A round peg in a square hole? The specificity of the nine hole peg test

The Nine Hole Peg Test (NHPT) is widely used in neurological rehabilitation to assess dexterity, but to what extent may its results be generalised? This study aimed to investigate the specificity of the NHPT. Sixteen healthy subjects were randomised into the Practice Group (PG) or the Control Group (CG). Both groups were assessed on the time (s) taken to complete the NHPT, a screw-driving (SD) and a shirt buttoning task (SB). Performance was measured on day 1, day 8 and day 15. The PG practised the NHPT for 5 consecutive days (day 4-8), 20 trials per day. The CG did not practice at all. The PG improved significantly more on the NHPT than the CG, but not on the SD or SB tasks. Despite study limitations, the findings suggest that the NHPT may involve a specific perceptuo-motor skill.