The Verbal Naming Test (VNT) is an auditory-based measure of naming or word finding. The current multisite study sought to evaluate the reliability and validity of the VNT in the detection of major and mild neurocognitive disorder (NCD).

This study analyzed clinical data from two outpatient neuropsychology clinics (N = 188 and N = 77) and a geriatric primary care clinic (N = 104). Cronbach’s alpha and Spearman correlations with other measures were calculated. ROC analyses were used to calculate sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive power, and negative predictive power for the detection of major and mild NCD per DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition) criteria.

The VNT was found to have strong reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = .90) and high convergent validity with a commonly used picture-naming task (NAB Naming, Spearman’s rho = .65, p < .001). The VNT showed good sensitivity and specificity for the detection of NCDs, particularly major NCD, with an area under the curve of .85, sensitivity of .80, and specificity of .75. A possible discontinue rule is also suggested for clinicians to use.

These findings provide compelling evidence for the use of the VNT to detect neurocognitive impairment in a clinical setting. The VNT provides a reliable alternative to picture-naming tasks, which may be advantageous when working with visually impaired patients or conducting evaluations over telehealth.

语言命名测试 (VNT) 是一种基于听觉的命名或单词发现量度。目前的多中心研究旨在评估 VNT 在检测重度和轻度神经认知障碍 (NCD) 中的可靠性和有效性。

本研究分析了来自两个门诊神经心理学诊所（N = 188 和N = 77）和一个老年初级保健诊所（N = 104）的临床数据。计算了 Cronbach 的 alpha 和 Spearman 与其他测量的相关性。ROC 分析用于计算根据 DSM-5（精神疾病诊断和统计手册，第五版）标准检测主要和轻度 NCD 的灵敏度、特异性、阳性预测能力和阴性预测能力。

发现 VNT 具有很强的可靠性（Cronbach's alpha = .90）和常用图片命名任务的高收敛效度（NAB Naming，Spearman's rho = .65，p < .001）。VNT 对检测非传染性疾病，特别是主要非传染性疾病表现出良好的灵敏度和特异性，曲线下面积为 0.85，灵敏度为 0.80，特异性为 0.75。还建议临床医生使用可能的终止规则。

这些发现为在临床环境中使用 VNT 检测神经认知障碍提供了令人信服的证据。VNT 为图片命名任务提供了一种可靠的替代方案，这在与视障患者一起工作或进行远程医疗评估时可能是有利的。