Hungarian adaptation of the cerebellar cognitive affective/Schmahmann Syndrome Scale

• Published in: Applied neuropsychology. Adult pp. 1 - 9
• Main Authors: Szabó-Műhelyi, Viktória, Szabó, Pál Tamás, Schmahmann, Jeremy D., Káldi, Tamás, Bánréti, Zoltán, Béres-Molnár, Katalin A., Folyovich, András
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 18.04.2024
• Subjects: neuropsychological tests; cognition; Affect; translations; cerebellum
• ISSN: 2327-9095; 2327-9109; 2327-9109
• DOI: 10.1080/23279095.2024.2341815

Recent studies have reported that cerebellar lesions can cause cognitive, behavioral, and affective symptoms. This constellation is called the cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome (CCAS). A bedside instrument, the CCAS-Scale, has been developed to screen for this clinical presentation. The aim of this study is to adapt the CCAS-Scale to Hungarian according to international cross-cultural guidelines. In cooperation with the senior author of the original CCAS-Scale, we defined a five-step adaptation protocol (license number 6758-1/2021). Step 1: translation of the scale from English to Hungarian by two separate teams. Step 2: comparison of the two translated versions, synthesis (preliminary version). Step 3: back translation by an independent professional translator. Step 4: authorization, revision, and correction. Step 5: pre-testing the scale, measuring the test times. Following our protocol, we produced the CCAS-H and the instructions booklet. We pre-tested healthy (n = 10) and cerebellar stroke patients (n = 10) and finalized the scale. Although not significantly, but cerebellar patients reached lower raw scores compared with healthy subjects. Testing times differed significantly between the two groups. A meticulous validation protocol was outlined to assess the validity and reliability of the newly adapted test. CCAS-H is a quick and adequate scale to examine the cerebellar-cognitive affective syndrome, which will be available for Hungarian professionals. Our main challenge was to define the stimuli and cues with adequate psycholinguistic and psychometric properties. As a next step, we are gathering data for the validation with the help of six other Hungarian Neurology departments.