The Symbol Digit Modalities Test - Oral version: Italian normative data.

In neuropsychological practice, the availability of effective and reliable tests is crucial. The Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) is widely used because it is easy to administer, reliable and also evaluates information processing speed. We set out to obtain normative data (currently unavailable for the Italian population) for the oral version of this test. Both age and education influenced performance on the SDMT; therefore, correction scores were obtained on the basis of these factors. The cut-off for normality was 34.2. The availability of Italian normative data for the SDMT will allow wider application of this test in clinical practice.