ConductCognition

Executive Function

Trail Making Test B

Measure set shifting and cognitive flexibility with a browser-native Trail Making Test Part B.

Useful for executive-function research, frontal-lobe studies, and batteries that compare TMT-B against TMT-A.

Executive Function3-5 minBrowser-based testing workflow
1
A
2
B
3
C
Alternate: 1-A-2-B-3-C...

What this task measures

Measures executive function and cognitive flexibility by asking participants to alternate between numbers and letters (1-A-2-B-3-C...).

Core constructs

  • Set shifting
  • Cognitive flexibility
  • Divided attention
  • Executive function
  • Sequencing ability

Research fit

  • Frontal lobe dysfunction detection
  • Dementia differential diagnosis
  • ADHD executive function assessment
  • Traumatic brain injury severity
  • Neuropsychological battery standard

Why researchers use ConductCognition

  • Hosted browser delivery with no local install burden for participants.
  • Study setup, scoring, exports, and participant links in one workflow.
  • Transparent pricing instead of opaque enterprise quoting for solo labs.
  • Free entry tier plus Academic Pro when you need the full battery and trial-level exports.

Paradigm overview

Trail Making Test Part B measures executive function and cognitive flexibility. Participants must connect circles by alternating between numbers and letters in ascending order (1-A-2-B-3-C-...8-H), requiring constant switching between two cognitive sets. The 16 circles are randomly positioned on a canvas.

The critical cognitive demand is set-shifting: participants must maintain two parallel sequences (numeric and alphabetic), track their current position in each, and switch between them on every step. This engages the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and is one of the most widely used clinical measures of executive function.

The TMT B-A difference (Part B time minus Part A time) is a commonly used derived measure that isolates the executive function component by subtracting out the motor speed contribution measured by Part A. This difference score is particularly sensitive to frontal lobe pathology.

Key scoring outputs

Completion Time

ms

Total time from first click to connecting the final circle. Primary measure of executive-mediated processing speed.

Lower is better

Completion Time (sec)

seconds

Same as completion time, converted to seconds.

Lower is better

Errors

count

Incorrect clicks (wrong circle). In TMT-B, errors often reflect sequencing or set-switching failures.

Lower is better

Total Circles

count

Number of circles in the trail (16 for TMT-B: 8 numbers + 8 letters).

Informational

Research evidence and scoring context

Tombaugh TN (2004). Trail Making Test A and B: Normative data stratified by age and education. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 19(2):203-214.

N 91118-89

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Related task pages

Trail Making Test AStroop Color-Word TestEriksen Flanker Task

Research FAQ

Common questions about this online cognitive test

Can I run the Trail Making Test B online?

Yes. ConductCognition runs the Trail Making Test B in a browser-based participant flow with study setup, automated scoring, and export-ready results.

What does this test measure?

Trail Making Test B is used for set shifting, cognitive flexibility, divided attention research workflows.

What data can researchers export?

Researchers can export scored results, and paid plans support trial-level exports for deeper analysis.

Is this for clinical diagnosis?

ConductCognition is for research use. The platform supports task delivery, scoring, and exports; clinical interpretation remains outside the platform.