Computerized Simple Reaction Time and Balance in Nondemented Parkinson’s Patients

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Aida Arroyo-Ferrer ◽  
Jorge Andreo ◽  
José A. Periáñez ◽  
Marcos Ríos-Lago ◽  
Genny Lubrini ◽  
...  

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients are known to suffer from subtle cognitive and balance deficits from the early stages although they usually manifest in advanced stages. Postural instability (PI) has been correlated with slower information processing speed. Simple reaction time (SRT) tasks can be used to measure the speed of information processing. The main objective of this study was to examine the usefulness of SRT as a valid predictor of balance in PD, thus providing a simple and complementary assessment method. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> This cross-sectional study included 52 PD patients without dementia who were evaluated for balance using the pull test (PT) maneuver and Biodex® limits of stability (LOS). In addition, a reaction time task was used to measure processing speed. Correlation and linear regression analyses were performed. <b><i>Results:</i></b> The performance of SRT tasks was correlated with the evaluation of LOS% and PT, suggesting that the SRT may be a predictor of balance performance. Longer reaction time and poorer postural stability were also associated with disease duration but not with age. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Poor performance in a simple reaction task can predict altered PI and can complement staging and evaluation in PD patients.

1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 867-870 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Small ◽  
J. F. Raney ◽  
Terry J. Knapp

Two reaction time tasks were compared as measures of information-processing speed. A multiple R between the WAIS—R Full, Performance, and Verbal scales and several reaction time parameters was calculated for 28 college students. Results indicate that the reaction-time task used in exploring the relationships between speed of information processing and IQ can be less complex than those used to date.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 669
Author(s):  
Paweł Krukow ◽  
Małgorzata Plechawska-Wójcik ◽  
Arkadiusz Podkowiński

Aggrandized fluctuations in the series of reaction times (RTs) are a very sensitive marker of neurocognitive disorders present in neuropsychiatric populations, pathological ageing and in patients with acquired brain injury. Even though it was documented that processing inconsistency founds a background of higher-order cognitive functions disturbances, there is a vast heterogeneity regarding types of task used to compute RT-related variability, which impedes determining the relationship between elementary and more complex cognitive processes. Considering the above, our goal was to develop a relatively new assessment method based on a simple reaction time paradigm, conducive to eliciting a controlled range of intra-individual variability. It was hypothesized that performance variability might be induced by manipulation of response-stimulus interval’s length and regularity. In order to verify this hypothesis, a group of 107 healthy students was tested using a series of digitalized tasks and their results were analyzed using parametric and ex-Gaussian statistics of RTs distributional markers. In general, these analyses proved that intra-individual variability might be evoked by a given type of response-stimulus interval manipulation even when it is applied to the simple reaction time task. Collected outcomes were discussed with reference to neuroscientific concepts of attentional resources and functional neural networks.


2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeroen Van Schependom ◽  
Marie B D’hooghe ◽  
Krista Cleynhens ◽  
Mieke D’hooge ◽  
Marie-Claire Haelewyck ◽  
...  

Background: Cognitive impairment affects half of the multiple sclerosis (MS) patient population and is an important contributor to patients’ daily activities. Most cognitive impairment studies in MS are, however, cross-sectional or/and focused on the early disease stages. Objective: We aim to assess the time course of decline of different cognitive domains. Methods: We collected neuropsychological data on 514 MS patients to construct Kaplan-Meier survival curves of the tests included in the Neuropsychological Screening Battery for MS (NSBMS) and the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT). Cox-proportional hazard models were constructed to examine the influence of MS onset type, age at onset, gender, depression and level of education on the time course, expressed as age or disease. Results: Survival curves of tests focusing on information processing speed (IPS) declined significantly faster than tests with less specific demands of IPS. Median age for pathological decline was 56.2 years (95% CI: 54.4–58.2) on the SDMT and 63.9 years (95% CI: 60–66.9) on the CLTR, a memory task. Conclusion: In conclusion, IPS is the cognitive domain not only most widely affected by MS but it is also the first cognitive deficit to emerge in MS.


1997 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances A. Carter ◽  
Cynthia M. Bulik ◽  
Rachel H. Lawson ◽  
Patrick F. Sullivan ◽  
Jenny S. Wilson

Information-processing speed and cue reactivity were evaluated in women with bulimia nervosa and controls in response to neutral, mood, and food cues in isolation, and mood and food cues in combination. Significant differences were consistently observed between women with bulimia nervosa and control women on information-processing speed for food/body-related words, but not for words unrelated to food/body concerns. As expected, women with bulimia nervosa demonstrated slower processing of information related to food/body concerns. In addition, the presentation of mood and food cues affected speed of information processing. Especially for women with bulimia nervosa, information processing was slowest when either mood or food cues were presented in isolation. Significant cue reactivity was also observed, again especially for women with bulimia nervosa. In conclusion, both transient and more enduring subject characteristics affected information-processing speed. Moreover, the way transient factors were presented significantly affected speed of information processing. This suggests a more complex relationship between cue presentation and information processing than was anticipated.


2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Scantlebury ◽  
Todd Cunningham ◽  
Colleen Dockstader ◽  
Suzanne Laughlin ◽  
William Gaetz ◽  
...  

AbstractWhite matter matures with age and is important for the efficient transmission of neuronal signals. Consequently, white matter growth may underlie the development of cognitive processes important for learning, including the speed of information processing. To dissect the relationship between white matter structure and information processing speed, we administered a reaction time task (finger abduction in response to visual cue) to 27 typically developing, right-handed children aged 4 to 13. Magnetoencephalography and Diffusion Tensor Imaging were used to delineate white matter connections implicated in visual-motor information processing. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and radial diffusivity (RD) of the optic radiation in the left hemisphere, and FA and mean diffusivity (MD) of the optic radiation in the right hemisphere changed significantly with age. MD and RD decreased with age in the right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, and bilaterally in the cortico-spinal tracts. No age-related changes were evident in the inferior longitudinal fasciculus. FA of the cortico-spinal tract in the left hemisphere and MD of the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus of the right hemisphere contributed uniquely beyond the effect of age in accounting for reaction time performance of the right hand. Our findings support the role of white matter maturation in the development of information processing speed. (JINS, 2013, 19, 1–14)


2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 1113-1121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abbey J. Hughes ◽  
Douglas R. Denney ◽  
Sharon G. Lynch

AbstractInformation processing speed is frequently cited as the primary cognitive domain impacted by multiple sclerosis (MS) and is usually evaluated with reaction time (RT) or rapid serial processing (RSP) measures. The present study compared the efficacy of RT and RSP measures to distinguish between patients with MS (N = 42) and healthy controls (N = 40). The RT measure was patterned after the Computerized Tests of Information Processing and included measures of simple, choice, and semantic RT. The RSP measures consisted of the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) and the Stroop Test. Substantial differences in information processing speed between patients and controls were found on all tests, with slightly larger effect sizes for RSP measures than RT measures and for the SDMT than the Stroop Test. Binary logistic regression analyses showed RSP measures performed better than RT measures at distinguishing patients from controls, and likewise, the SDMT score performed better than the scores derived from the Stroop Test. Results are discussed in the context of three effects associated with common measures of processing speed: complexity, compounding, and augmentation. (JINS, 2011, 17, 1113–1121)


2021 ◽  
pp. 003151252110601
Author(s):  
In Kyoung Park ◽  
Youngho Kim

In the current study, we investigated the effects of gender and regular physical activity (PA) on PA decision-making and speed of information processing. We enrolled 110 university students ( Mage = 20.91, SD =2.28 years) in an experiment involving two tasks and a questionnaire. One of the two tasks assessed how much participants agreed with presented PA words and phrases and the other task predicted behavior and responses to future situations. We collected and measured the participants’ choices and the time they took to make them. The questionnaire, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), consisted of exercise self-schema and PA questions. We conducted a 2 (gender: male or female) ×2 (regular PA or not) multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and found statistically significant differences between variables as a function of participants’ gender (λ = .66, p < .001) and regular PA engagement (λ = .51, p < .001). In a regression analysis, we also found gender differences [males showed relationships between agreement with PA information and information processing speed for decisions on future behavior ( R 2 = .31, F = 12.50); females showed relationships between their exercise self-schema ( R 2 = .26, F = 18.18) and regular PA such that, in the non-regular PA group, exercise self-schema was related to reaction time in making decisions on future behavior ( R 2 = .29, F = 11.23), and in the regular PA group, agreement with PA information was related to reaction time for PA-related words, and agreement with non-PA information ( R 2 = .29, F = 8.91)]. These results highlight the need to consider participant characteristics when designing exercise interventions, and we present supplementary data regarding exercise self-schemas, decision-making, and the speed of processing PA information.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amira Abou-Dest ◽  
Cédric T. Albinet ◽  
Geoffroy Boucard ◽  
Michel Audiffren

This study examined whether regular swimming in older adults was related to better cognitive functioning and whether there were any global or selective positive effects of this physical activity (PA) on cognition. The cognitive performances of three groups of sixteen volunteer participants (young adults, sedentary older adults, and older adults who regularly practice swimming) were evaluated using a multitask approach. All participants performed a battery of ten tasks: two reaction time tasks assessing information processing speed and eight experimental tasks assessing three executive functions (EFs), (behavioral inhibition, working memory updating, and cognitive flexibility). The results showed that young adults performed significantly better than older adults on all examined cognitive functions. However, in older adults, regular swimming was related to better performance on the three EFs, but not on information processing speed. More precisely, five experimental tasks out of the eight tapping EFs were shown to be sensitive to positive effects from swimming practice. Finally, the demonstrated benefits of swimming on EFs were not necessarily linked to better cardiorespiratory fitness. The present findings illustrate the validity of using a multitask approach in examining the potential benefits of regular PA on cognitive aging.


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