Hayling and Stroop Tests Tap Dissociable Deficits and Network-Level Neural Correlates

Although many executive function screens have been developed, it is not yet clear whether these assessments are equally effective in detecting post-stroke deficits of initiation and inhibition. This study presents a comparative analysis of the Stroop and Hayling Tests aiming to evaluate whether these tests measure the same underlying cognitive functions and to identify the neural correlates of the deficits detected by both tasks. 66 stroke survivors and 70 healthy ageing controls completed the Hayling and Stroop Tasks. Stroke patients were found to exhibit qualitative performance differences across analogous Stroop and Hayling Test metrics intended to tap initiation and inhibition. The Stroop Test was found to have high specificity to abnormal performance, but low sensitivity relative to the Hayling Task. Minimal overlap was present between the network-level correlates of analogous Stroop and Hayling Test metrics. Hayling Task strategy use metrics were significantly associated with distinct patterns of disconnection in stroke survivors, providing novel insight into the neural correlates of fine-grained behavioural patterns. Overall, these findings strongly suggest that the functions tapped by the Stroop and Hayling Test are both behaviourally and anatomically dissociable. The Hayling Task was found to offer improved sensitivity and detail relative to the Stroop Task. This novel demonstration of the Hayling Test within the stroke population suggests that this task represents an effective measure for quantifying post-stroke initiation and inhibition deficits.