scholarly journals Validation of an automated scoring program for a digital complex figure copy task within healthy aging and stroke.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam S. Webb ◽  
Margaret Jane Moore ◽  
Anna Yamshchikova ◽  
Valeska Kozik ◽  
Mihaela D. Duta ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco A. Petilli ◽  
Roberta Daini ◽  
Francesca Lea Saibene ◽  
Marco Rabuffetti

AbstractAccuracy in copying a figure is one of the most sensitive measures of visuo-constructional ability. However, drawing tasks also involve other cognitive and motor abilities, which may influence the final graphic produced. Nevertheless, these aspects are not taken into account in conventional scoring methodologies. In this study, we have implemented a novel Tablet-based assessment, acquiring data and information for the entire execution of the Rey Complex Figure copy task (T-RCF). This system extracts 12 indices capturing various dimensions of drawing abilities. We have also analysed the structure of relationships between these indices and provided insights into the constructs that they capture. 102 healthy adults completed the T-RCF. A subgroup of 35 participants also completed a paper-and-pencil drawing battery from which constructional, procedural, and motor measures were obtained. Principal component analysis of the T-RCF indices was performed, identifying spatial, procedural and kinematic components as distinct dimensions of drawing execution. Accordingly, a composite score for each dimension was determined. Correlational analyses provided indications of their validity by showing that spatial, procedural, and kinematic scores were associated with constructional, organisational and motor measures of drawing, respectively. Importantly, final copy accuracy was found to be associated with all of these aspects of drawing. In conclusion, copying complex figures entails an interplay of multiple functions. T-RCF provides a unique opportunity to analyse the entire drawing process and to extract scores for three critical dimensions of drawing execution.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 836-836 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Vogt ◽  
H Kloosterman ◽  
S Vermeent ◽  
G Van Elswijk ◽  
R Dotsch ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective To validate a fully automated scoring algorithm for the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (ROCFT) by comparing the scoring results of the algorithm to the results of human raters. Method The algorithm consisted of a cascade of deep neural networks which were trained on human rater scores to extract the 18 segments of the figure, and to quantify the patient’s performance. Algorithm results were compared to six expert raters for 303 drawings. We tested whether the average correlation between algorithm scores and scores by all human raters was equivalent to the average inter-rater correlation (with equality bound Δr < .05). The immediate and delayed recall trial were used; the copy trial showed a strong ceiling effect. Results The mean Pearson correlation between raters was .94 (SD = 0.01). The correlation between to algorithm and the raters was .88 (SD = 0.02). A two-one-sided t-tests (TOST) equivalence test showed that these correlations were not strictly equivalent, t(5) = 4.02, p = .995, 95% CI [0.35, 0.52]. Conclusions Although not strictly equivalent to human ratings, the algorithm’s performance is high, approaching a level of reliability found among human raters. We expect that improved individual segment detection will bring the algorithm scoring accuracy on par with that of human raters. Algorithmic scoring of the ROCFT will likely save valuable time and lead to higher levels of standardization in clinical practice.


Author(s):  
S. J. Pennycook

Using a high-angle annular detector on a high-resolution STEM it is possible to form incoherent images of a crystal lattice characterized by strong atomic number or Z contrast. Figure 1 shows an epitaxial Ge film on Si(100) grown by oxidation of Ge-implanted Si. The image was obtained using a VG Microscopes' HB501 STEM equipped with an ultrahigh resolution polepiece (Cs ∽1.2 mm, demonstrated probe FWHM intensity ∽0.22 nm). In both crystals the lattice is resolved but that of Ge shows much brighter allowing the interface to be located exactly and interface steps to be resolved (arrowed). The interface was indistinguishable in the phase-contrast STEM image from the same region, and even at higher resolution the location of the interface is complex. Figure 2 shows a thin region of an MBE-grown ultrathin super-lattice (Si8Ge2)100. The expected compositional modulation would show as one bright row of dots from the 2 Ge monolayers separated by 4 rows of lighter Si columns. The image shows clearly that strain-induced interdiffusion has occurred on the monolayer scale.


2004 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Merten ◽  
Matthias Henry ◽  
Robin Hilsabeck

Zusammenfassung: In der neuropsychologischen Diagnostik, mehr noch aber in der Begutachtung gewinnen Symptomvalidierungstests (SVT) zur Untersuchung der Leistungsmotivation zunehmend an Bedeutung. In einer Analogstudie wurde die Güte zweier international bekannter Verfahren (Word Memory Test; Amsterdam Short Term Memory Test) sowie einer Neuentwicklung (Word Completion Memory Test) untersucht. Zusätzlich wurden Leistungstests eingesetzt: der Trail Making Test (TMT), der Complex Figure Test sowie die Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM). Eine Gruppe von 10 experimentellen Simulanten wurde spezifisch auf die Vortäuschung von Gedächtnisstörungen vorbereitet, während eine Kontrollgruppe (n = 10) optimale Testanstrengung zeigen sollte. Alle SVT führten im Gegensatz zu den Simulationsmarkern des TMT und der SPM zu einer ausgezeichneten Klassifikationsgüte (95-100 %). Die neuropsychologischen Leistungsmaße wiesen zwar signifikante Gruppenunterschiede aus, zeigten aber auch eine nicht unbedeutende Überlappung der Verteilungen. Mehr Studien sind notwendig, um den SVT in den deutschsprachigen Ländern den Platz zu sichern, den sie international aktuell in der klinisch-neuropsychologischen Forschung und Praxis einnehmen.


GeroPsych ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 235-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katja Franke ◽  
Christian Gaser

We recently proposed a novel method that aggregates the multidimensional aging pattern across the brain to a single value. This method proved to provide stable and reliable estimates of brain aging – even across different scanners. While investigating longitudinal changes in BrainAGE in about 400 elderly subjects, we discovered that patients with Alzheimer’s disease and subjects who had converted to AD within 3 years showed accelerated brain atrophy by +6 years at baseline. An additional increase in BrainAGE accumulated to a score of about +9 years during follow-up. Accelerated brain aging was related to prospective cognitive decline and disease severity. In conclusion, the BrainAGE framework indicates discrepancies in brain aging and could thus serve as an indicator for cognitive functioning in the future.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 188-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Adorni ◽  
Agostino Brugnera ◽  
Alessia Gatti ◽  
Giorgio A. Tasca ◽  
Kaoru Sakatani ◽  
...  

Abstract. The aim of the study was to explore the effects of situational stress and anxiety in a group of healthy elderly, both in terms of psychophysiological correlates and cognitive performance. Eighteen participants ( Mage = 70 ± 6.3; range 60–85) were assessed for anxiety and were instructed to perform a computerized math task, under both a stressful and a control condition, while near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) signal and electrocardiography (ECG) were recorded. NIRS results evidenced an increased activation of right PFC during the entire procedure, even if effect sizes between left and right channels were larger during the experimental condition. The amount of right activation during the stressful condition was positively correlated with anxiety. Response times (RTs) were slower in more anxious than in less anxious individuals, both during the control and stressful conditions. Accuracy was lower in more anxious than in less anxious individuals, only during the stressful condition. Moreover, heart rate (HR) was not modulated by situational stress, nor by anxiety. Overall, the present study suggests that in healthy elderly, anxiety level has a significant impact on cerebral responses, and both on the amount of cognitive resources and the quality of performance in stressful situations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 162-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sascha Zuber ◽  
Matthias Kliegel

Abstract. Prospective Memory (PM; i.e., the ability to remember to perform planned tasks) represents a key proxy of healthy aging, as it relates to older adults’ everyday functioning, autonomy, and personal well-being. The current review illustrates how PM performance develops across the lifespan and how multiple cognitive and non-cognitive factors influence this trajectory. Further, a new, integrative framework is presented, detailing how those processes interplay in retrieving and executing delayed intentions. Specifically, while most previous models have focused on memory processes, the present model focuses on the role of executive functioning in PM and its development across the lifespan. Finally, a practical outlook is presented, suggesting how the current knowledge can be applied in geriatrics and geropsychology to promote healthy aging by maintaining prospective abilities in the elderly.


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