scholarly journals Reaction time, inhibition, working memory and ‘delay aversion’ performance: genetic influences and their interpretation

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (11) ◽  
pp. 1613-1624 ◽  
Author(s):  
JONNA KUNTSI ◽  
HANNAH ROGERS ◽  
GREER SWINARD ◽  
NORBERT BÖRGER ◽  
JAAP van der MEERE ◽  
...  

Background. For candidate endophenotypes to be useful for psychiatric genetic research, they first of all need to show significant genetic influences. To address the relative lack of previous data, we set to investigate the extent of genetic and environmental influences on performance in a set of theoretically driven cognitive-experimental tasks in a large twin sample. We further aimed to illustrate how test–retest reliability of the measures affects the estimates.Method. Four-hundred 7- to 9-year-old twin pairs were assessed individually on tasks measuring reaction time, inhibition, working memory and ‘delay aversion’ performance. Test–retest reliability data on some of the key measures were available from a previous study.Results. Several key measures of reaction time, inhibition and working-memory performance indicated a moderate degree of genetic influence. Combining data across theoretically related tasks increased the heritability estimates, as illustrated by the heritability estimates of 60% for mean reaction time and 50% for reaction-time variability. Psychometric properties (reliability or ceiling effects) had a substantial influence on the estimates for some measures.Conclusions. The data support the usefulness of several of the variables for endophenotype studies that aim to link genes to cognitive and motivational processes. Importantly, the data also illustrate specific conditions under which the true extent of genetic influences may be underestimated and hence the usefulness for genetic mapping studies compromised, and suggest ways to address this.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Van Patten ◽  
Grant L. Iverson ◽  
Mélissa A. Muzeau ◽  
Heidi A. VanRavenhorst-Bell

Objective: Remote mobile cognitive testing (MCT) is an expanding area of research, but psychometric data supporting these measures are limited. We provide preliminary data on test–retest reliability and reliable change estimates in four MCTs from SWAY Medical, Inc.Methods: Fifty-five adults from the U.S. Midwest completed the MCTs remotely on their personal mobile devices once per week for 3 consecutive weeks, while being supervised with a video-based virtual connection. The cognitive assessment measured simple reaction time (“Reaction Time”), go/no-go response inhibition (“Impulse Control”), timed visual processing (“Inspection Time”), and working memory (“Working Memory”). For each cognitive test except Working Memory, we analyzed both millisecond (ms) responses and an overall SWAY composite score.Results: The mean age of the sample was 26.69years (SD=9.89; range=18–58). Of the 55 adults, 38 (69.1%) were women and 49 (89.1%) used an iPhone. Friedman’s ANOVAs examining differences across testing sessions were nonsignificant (ps>0.31). Intraclass correlations for Weeks 1–3 were: Reaction Time (ms): 0.83, Reaction Time (SWAY): 0.83, Impulse Control (ms): 0.68, Impulse Control (SWAY): 0.80, Inspection Time (ms): 0.75, Inspection Time (SWAY): 0.75, and Working Memory (SWAY): 0.88. Intraclass correlations for Weeks 1–2 were: Reaction Time (ms): 0.75, Reaction Time (SWAY): 0.74, Impulse Control (ms): 0.60, Impulse Control (SWAY): 0.76, Inspection Time (ms): 0.79, Inspection Time (SWAY): 0.79, and Working Memory (SWAY): 0.83. Natural distributions of difference scores were calculated and reliable change estimates are presented for 70, 80, and 90% CIs.Conclusion: Test–retest reliability was adequate or better for the MCTs in this virtual remote testing study. Reliable change estimates allow for the determination of whether a particular level of improvement or decline in performance is within the range of probable measurement error. Additional reliability and validity data are needed in other age groups.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Adam J. Wells ◽  
Bri-ana D.I. Johnson

Context: The Dynavision D2™ Mode A test (ModeA) is a 1-minute reaction time (RT) test commonly used in sports science research and clinical rehabilitation. However, there is limited data regarding the effect of repeated testing (ie, training) or subsequent periods of no testing (ie, detraining) on test–retest reliability and RT performance. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the test–retest reliability, training, and detraining effects associated with the D2™ ModeA test. Design: Repeated measures/reliability. Methods: Twenty-four recreationally active men and women completed 15 training sessions consisting of 2 ModeA tests per session (30 tests). The participants were then randomized to either 1 or 2 weeks of detraining prior to completing 15 retraining sessions (30 tests). The training and retraining periods were separated into 10 blocks for analysis (3 tests per block). The number of hits (hits) and the average RT per hit (AvgRT) within each block were used to determine RT performance. Intraclass correlation coefficients, SEM, and minimum difference were used to determine reliability. Repeated-measures analysis of variance/analysis of covariance were used to determine training and detraining effects, respectively. Results: The ModeA variables demonstrated excellent test–retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient2,3 > .93). Significant improvements in hits and AvgRT were noted within training blocks 1 to 5 (P < .05). No further improvements in RT performance were noted between training blocks 6 through 10. There was no effect of detraining period on RT. The RT performance was not different between blocks during retraining. Conclusions: It appears that 15 tests are necessary to overcome the training effect and establish reliable baseline performance for the ModeA test. Detraining for 1 to 2 weeks did not impact RT performance. The authors recommend that investigators and clinicians utilize the average of 3 tests when assessing RT performance using the D2 ModeA test.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Thitiya Wangkawan ◽  
Cynthia Lai ◽  
Peeraya Munkhetvit ◽  
Trevor Yung ◽  
Supaporn Chinchai

The visuospatial working memory plays a crucial role in the occupational performance of children including daily living and academic achievement. Unfortunately, relevant visuospatial working memory tests in the occupational therapy setting are lacking. Therefore, it is of clinical interest to develop new assessment tools in this area. The present study is aimed at summarizing the development of the visuospatial working memory assessment (VWMA) and assessing its psychometric properties. The results revealed that the score of item-objective congruence index (IOC) was 1.0 in overall items of assessment. The Cronbach alpha test confirmed that the internal consistency of VWMA showed good reliability in both types of the assessment, with the total score of computerized tests being .88 and the tabletop tests being .81. The computerized test was found to have excellent test-retest reliability with intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) values ranging from .88 to .99. The tabletop test was found to have a fair to good test-retest reliability with the ICC values ranging from .51 to .63. As regards construct validity, the results revealed that the tasks in the computerized test identified a significant difference between the control group, normal children, and children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) group. The exception to this was the N-back task in which the independent sample t-test of computerized test ranged from 1.61 to 6.23. The results of the tabletop test revealed a significant difference between normal children and the children in the ADHD group over all tasks in which the independent sample t-test ranged from 3.05 to 8.40. In conclusion, good psychometric properties established as regards content validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity provide evidence to support the position that the new VWMA is appropriate for children.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefania Franja ◽  
Anna E. McCrae ◽  
Tina Jahnel ◽  
Ashley N. Gearhardt ◽  
Stuart G. Ferguson

Objective: Food-related attentional bias has been defined as the tendency to give preferential attention to food-related stimuli. Attentional bias is of interest as studies have found that increased attentional bias is associated with obesity; others, however, have not. A possible reason for mixed results may be that there is no agreed upon measure of attentional bias: studies differ in both measurement and scoring of attentional bias. Additionally, little is known about the stability of attentional bias over time. The present study aims to compare attentional bias measures generated from commonly used attentional bias tasks and scoring protocols, and to test re-test reliability.Methods: As part of a larger study, 69 participants (67% female) completed two food-related visual probe tasks at baseline: lexical (words as stimuli), and pictorial (pictures as stimuli). Reaction time bias scores (attentional bias scores) for each task were calculated in three different ways: by subtracting the reaction times for the trials where probes replaced (1) neutral stimuli from the trials where the probes replaced all food stimuli, (2) neutral stimuli from the trials where probes replaced high caloric food stimuli, and (3) neutral stimuli from low caloric food stimuli. This resulted in three separate attentional bias scores for each task. These reaction time results were then correlated. The pictorial visual probe task was administered a second time 14-days later to assess test-retest reliability.Results: Regardless of the scoring use, lexical attentional bias scores were minimal, suggesting minimal attentional bias. Pictorial task attentional bias scores were larger, suggesting greater attentional bias. The correlation between the various scores was relatively small (r = 0.13–0.20). Similarly, test-retest reliability for the pictorial task was poor regardless of how the test was scored (r = 0.20–0.41).Conclusion: These results suggest that at least some of the variation in findings across attentional bias studies could be due to differences in the way that attentional bias is measured. Future research may benefit from either combining eye-tracking measurements in addition to reaction times.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernhard Pastötter ◽  
Christian Frings

The forward testing effect refers to the finding that retrieval practice of previously studied information enhances learning and retention of subsequently studied other information. While most of the previous research on the forward testing effect examined group differences, the present study took an individual differences approach to investigate this effect. Experiment 1 examined whether the forward effect has test-retest reliability between two experimental sessions. Experiment 2 investigated whether the effect is related to participants’ working memory capacity. In both experiments (and each session of Experiment 1), participants studied three lists of items in anticipation of a final cumulative recall test. In the testing condition, participants were tested immediately on lists 1 and 2, whereas in the restudy condition, they restudied lists 1 and 2. In both conditions, participants were tested immediately on list 3. On the group level, the results of both experiments demonstrated a forward testing effect, with interim testing of lists 1 and 2 enhancing immediate recall of list 3. On the individual level, the results of Experiment 1 showed that the forward effect on list 3 recall has moderate test-retest reliability between two experimental sessions. In addition, the results of Experiment 2 showed that the forward effect on list 3 recall does not depend on participants’ working memory capacity. These findings suggest that the forward testing effect is reliable at the individual level and affects learners at a wide range of working memory capacities alike. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.


The Knee ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 176-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tine Alkjær ◽  
Marius Henriksen ◽  
Poul Dyhre-Poulsen ◽  
Erik B. Simonsen

NeuroImage ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 687-693 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Näpflin ◽  
Marc Wildi ◽  
Johannes Sarnthein

2001 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonna Kuntsi ◽  
Jim Stevenson ◽  
Jaap Oosterlaan ◽  
Edmund J. S. Sonuga-Barke

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 205970021879781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tara A Whitten ◽  
Cameron S Mang ◽  
Madeline S Cosh ◽  
Stephen H Scott ◽  
Sean P Dukelow ◽  
...  

Introduction An important problem in the field of sport-related concussion is the lack of a ‘gold-standard’ clinical assessment tool. Currently, the diagnosis relies heavily on self-reporting of symptoms and observation of clinical signs by medical professionals. To address this, our group has been motivated to develop objective measures of neurological impairment following concussion. Spatial working memory is an important aspect of cognitive function that might be impaired following concussion. In the present study, we measured spatial working memory using a robotic spatial span task. We first assessed test–retest reliability in 82 healthy athletes who underwent baseline testing across two athletic seasons using intraclass correlation coefficients. We then assessed spatial span performance relative to baseline in 47 athletes acutely following sport-related concussion using a reliable change index with 80% confidence limits to define impairment on an individual basis. Results We found good test–retest reliability for the mean span (a measure of spatial working memory span length; intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.79), and moderate reliability for the response duration (time taken per spatial target; intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.64) in healthy athletes. However, only 19% of acutely concussed athletes showed evidence of impairment relative to baseline in mean span, and even fewer (9%) showed evidence of impairment in response duration. Analysis of serial position curves revealed primacy and recency effects for this task, but no group-level differences between concussed and healthy athletes. Analysis of specific types of errors showed a higher rate of substitution errors in the concussed group at baseline, suggesting possible malingering in a small number of athletes. Conclusion Overall, few athletes showed evidence of impaired spatial working memory acutely following concussion, suggesting either that spatial working memory is not commonly impaired acutely post-concussion, or that the present task is not sufficiently demanding.


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