Nonverbal Medical Symptom Validity Test

The NV-MSVT is a test of the ability to learn and remember information contained in visual images presented on a computer screen. It takes only 5 or 6 minutes on task but it contains multiple subtests that vary in difficulty level. This test has test result profiles that are characteristic of actual severe memory impairment and profiles that indicate insufficient effort to produce valid test results.

It has very high specificity in people with dementia (Henry, Merten, Wolf and Hart, 2009), such that confusion between actual severe impairment and feigned impairment will rarely occur. In particular, the criteria are set to achieve maximum specificity and moderate sensitivity. The NV-MSVT is one of very few tests of effort that can achieve close to or actually 100% specificity in dementia, a finding that has been independently replicated in three separate countries.