The Correlation between a New Online Cognitive Test (the Brain Assessment) and Widely Used In-Person Neuropsychological Tests

Author(s):  
Masayuki Satoh ◽  
Ken-ichi Tabei ◽  
Makiko Abe ◽  
Chiaki Kamikawa ◽  
Saiko Fujita ◽  
...  

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> There are several problems with standard in-person neuropsychological assessments, such as habituation, necessity of human resources, and difficulty of in-person assessment under societal conditions during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019. Thus, we developed an online cognitive test (the Brain Assessment [BA]). In this study, we investigated the correlation between the results of the BA and those of established neuropsychological tests. <b><i>Participants and Methods:</i></b> Seventy-seven elderly persons (mean 71.3 ± 5.1 years old; range 65–86; male:female = 45:32) were recruited through the internet. Correlations were evaluated between the BA and the following widely used neuropsychological tests: the mini-mental state examination (MMSE), the Raven’s colored progressive matrices (RCPM), the logical memory I and II of the Rivermead Behavioral Memory Test, the word fluency (WF) test, and the Trail-Making TestA/B. <b><i>Results:</i></b> We found moderate correlations between the total cognitive score of the BA and the total score of the MMSE (<i>r</i> = 0.433, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001), as well as between the total BA score and the total RCPM score (<i>r</i> = 0.582, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001) and time to complete the RCPM (<i>r</i> = 0.455, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001). Moderate correlations were also observed between the cognitive score of the memory of words BA subtest and the LM-I (<i>r</i> = 0.518, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001), the mental rotation subtest and figure drawing (<i>r</i> = 0.404, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001), the logical reasoning subtest and total RCPM score (<i>r</i> = 0.491, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001), and the memory of numbers and words subtests and WF (memory of numbers and total WF: <i>r</i> = 0.456, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001; memory of words and total WF: <i>r</i> = 0.571, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001). <b><i>Discussion:</i></b> We found that the BA showed moderate correlations between established neuropsychological tests for intellect, memory, visuospatial function, and frontal function. The MMSE and the RCPM reflect Spearman’s s-factor and g-factor, respectively, and thus the BA also covered both factors. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> The BA is a useful tool for assessing the cognitive function of generally healthy elderly persons.

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edoardo Casiglia ◽  
Nunzia Giordano ◽  
Valérie Tikhonoff ◽  
Giovanni Boschetti ◽  
Alberto Mazza ◽  
...  

To verify whether theC825Tpolymorphism of the GNB3 influences the response to neuropsychological tests, mini-mental state examination, digit span (DS), immediate and delayed prose memory, memory with interference at 10 and 30 seconds (MI 10 and 30), trail making tests (TMTs) A and B, abstraction task, verbal fluency (VF) test, figure drawing and copying, overlapping figures test and clock test were performed in 220 elderly men and women free from clinical dementia and from neurological and psychiatric diseases randomly taken from the Italian general population and analysed across theC825Tpolymorphism. The performance of DS, immediate and delayed prose memory, VF, and TMTs was worse in subjects who were TT for the polymorphism in comparison to the C-carriers. The performance of all tests declined with age. In the case of DS, immediate and delayed prose memory, MI 10 and VF, this trend was maintained in the C-carriers but not in TT. In the case of prose memory, of memory with interference, and of VF, schooling reduced the detrimental interaction between age and genotype. TheC825Tpolymorphism of GNB3 gene therefore influences memory and verbal fluency, being additive to the effects of age and partially mitigated by schooling.


2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suvira Ramlall ◽  
Jennifer Chipps ◽  
Ahmed I Bhigjee ◽  
Basil J Pillay

<p><strong>Background. </strong>Neuropsychological tests can successfully distinguish between healthy elderly persons and those with clinically significant cognitive impairment. </p><p><strong>Objectives. </strong>A battery of neuropsychological tests was evaluated for their discrimination validity of cognitive impairment in a group of elderly persons in Durban, South Africa. </p><p><strong>Method. </strong>A sample of 117 English-speaking participants of different race groups (9 with dementia, 30 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 78 controls) from a group of residential homes for the elderly was administered a battery of 11 neuropsychological tests. Kruskal-Wallis independent sample tests were used to compare performance of tests in the groups. Sensitivity and specificity of the tests for dementia and MCI were determined using random operating curve (ROC) analysis. </p><p><strong>Results. </strong>Most tests were able to discriminate between participants with dementia or MCI, and controls (<em>p</em>&lt;0.05). Area under the curve (AUC) values for dementia v. non-dementia participants ranged from 0.519 for the digit span (forward) to 0.828 for the digit symbol (90 s), with 14 of the 29 test scores achieving significance (<em>p</em>&lt;0.05). AUC values for MCI participants ranged from 0.754 for controlled oral word association test (COWAT) Animal to 0.507 for the Rey complex figure test copy, with 17 of the 29 scores achieving significance (<em>p</em>&lt;0.05). </p><p><strong>Conclusions. </strong>Several measures from the neuropsychological battery had discrimination validity for the differential diagnosis of cognitive disturbances in the elderly. Further studies are needed to assess the effect of culture and language on the appropriateness of the tests for different populations.</p>


Author(s):  
Anastasia Matchanova ◽  
Michelle A Babicz ◽  
Luis D Medina ◽  
Samina Rahman ◽  
Briana Johnson ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective To examine the factor structure and sociodemographic correlates of a battery of clinical neuropsychological tests administered in-home and via telephone. Method Participants included 280 healthy adults who completed a 35–40 min battery consisting of seven auditory-verbal neuropsychological tests (i.e., 10 variables) that included digit span, list learning and memory, prospective memory, verbal fluency, and oral trail making. Results After removing oral trail making part A, a three-factor model comprised of executive functions, memory and attention demonstrated the best fit to the data. Nevertheless, the shared variance between the nine remaining neuropsychological variables was also adequately explained by a single-factor model and a two-factor model comprised of executive functions and memory. Factor scores were variably associated with education, race/ethnicity, and IQ, but not with sex or age. Conclusions Findings provide preliminary support for the feasibility and factor structure and sociodemographic correlates of a brief telephone-based screening neuropsychological battery comprised mostly of commonly administered clinical measures. Future studies are needed to determine the test–retest reliability, sensitivity, and ecological relevance of this battery, as well as equivalency to in-person assessment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Si Eun Kim ◽  
Byungju Lee ◽  
Hyemin Jang ◽  
Juhee Chin ◽  
Ching Soong Khoo ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The presence of ß-amyloid (Aß) in the brain can be identified using amyloid PET. In clinical practice, the amyloid PET is interpreted based on dichotomous visual rating, which renders focal Aß accumulation be read as positive for Aß. However, the prognosis of patients with focal Aß deposition is not well established. Thus, we investigated cognitive trajectories of patients with focal Aß deposition. Methods We followed up 240 participants (112 cognitively unimpaired [CU], 78 amnestic mild cognitive impairment [aMCI], and 50 Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia [ADD]) for 2 years from 9 referral centers in South Korea. Participants were assessed with neuropsychological tests and 18F-flutemetamol (FMM) positron emission tomography (PET). Ten regions (frontal, precuneus/posterior cingulate (PPC), lateral temporal, parietal, and striatum of each hemisphere) were visually examined in the FMM scan, and participants were divided into three groups: No-FMM, Focal-FMM (FMM uptake in 1–9 regions), and Diffuse-FMM. We used mixed-effects model to investigate the speed of cognitive decline in the Focal-FMM group according to the cognitive level, extent, and location of Aß involvement, in comparison with the No- or Diffuse-FMM group. Results Forty-five of 240 (18.8%) individuals were categorized as Focal-FMM. The rate of cognitive decline in the Focal-FMM group was faster than the No-FMM group (especially in the CU and aMCI stage) and slower than the Diffuse-FMM group (in particular in the CU stage). Within the Focal-FMM group, participants with FMM uptake to a larger extent (7–9 regions) showed faster cognitive decline compared to those with uptake to a smaller extent (1–3 or 4–6 regions). The Focal-FMM group was found to have faster cognitive decline in comparison with the No-FMM when there was uptake in the PPC, striatum, and frontal cortex. Conclusions When predicting cognitive decline of patients with focal Aß deposition, the patients’ cognitive level, extent, and location of the focal involvement are important.


1964 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 199-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar A. Parsons ◽  
Harriet I. Maslow ◽  
Freda Morris ◽  
J. Peter Denny

The Trail Making Test, previously reported highly effective in differentiating brain-damaged from non-brain-damaged Ss, was administered to 21 brain-damaged Ss and 63 non-brain-damaged Ss. Since the latter Ss performed at a level indistinguishable from that of the brain-damaged Ss, several studies were designed in an attempt to “explain” the poor performance of the non-brain-damaged Ss. The possible effects of behavioral agitation, anxiety, examiner differences, facility with letters of the alphabet, order of administration, and ego-involvement were investigated. Only anxiety was found to be significantly related to performance. However, in other analyses age, education, vocabulary, and degree of psychiatric disturbance were significantly related to performance. Until these variables are considered in the scoring system, it seems unlikely that the TMT will be effective as a general screening test for brain-damage.


1978 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 191-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman G. Gordon

This study is a reinvestigation of the effectiveness of the Trail Making Test in discriminating between brain-damaged ( n = 51) and pseudoneurologic ( n = 72) subjects. All subjects were hospitalized male veterans at the Allen Park Veterans Administration Hospital. An analysis of covariance showed that the pseudoneurologic subjects performed at a significantly higher level than the brain-damaged subjects. Further analysis with two different cutoff scores exhibited unequal discriminatory power throughout the whole range of Trail Making Test scores. These results suggested diagnosing only when the scores were 9 or lower and 13 or higher. This use of extreme scores resulted in an over-all hit rate of 87% in the study. Comparisons with five major subgroupings of the pseudoneurologic subjects yielded only one significant difference: more accurate discrimination with the 12 cut-off score between 10 general-medical and peripheral nerve-damaged subjects (100% correct) and 18 psychotic subjects (39% accuracy).


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 5301-5309
Author(s):  
Govindakumari R ◽  
Vijayalakshmi ◽  
Sai Sailesh Kumar Goothy ◽  
Vijay Raghvan

Aging is a physiological process that leads to both biological and psychological changes. The brain undergoes structural changes as a part of aging. According to the investigator's best knowledge and based on the extensive review, no structured study was conducted in India to test the effectiveness of cognitive training program. Hence, the present study was conducted to test the effectiveness of a home-based training program on select outcomes. A total of 314 elderly participants were recruited for the study after obtaining the written informed consent. After recruiting, the participants were randomly grouped into two groups, that is control and intervention groups, with 157 participants in each group. The intervention was administered to the experimental group. The present study results suggest that the home-based cognitive training program is effective in improving cognitive functions and daily life activities. The study recommends further detailed and multi-centered studies in this area to recommend the implementation of the program in the management of the cognitive impairments of the elderly.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
Zhang- sensen

mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a condition between healthy elderly people and alzheimer's disease (AD). At present, brain network analysis based on machine learning methods can help diagnose MCI. In this paper, the brain network is divided into several subnets based on the shortest path,and the feature vectors of each subnet are extracted and classified. In order to make full use of subnet information, this paper adopts integrated classification model for classification.Each base classification model can predict the classification of a subnet,and the classification results of all subnets are calculated as the classification results of brain network.In order to verify the effectiveness of this method,a brain network of 66 people was constructed and a comparative experiment was carried out.The experimental results show that the classification accuracy of the integrated classification model proposed in this paper is 19% higher than that of SVM,which effectively improves the classification accuracy


2021 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelo Rabello dos SANTOS ◽  
Monique Siebra KRUG ◽  
Michel Rasche BRANDÃO ◽  
Victória Silva de LEON ◽  
Júlia Cenci MARTINOTTO ◽  
...  

Abstract Music has been debated as a positive factor for the health of elderly people. In a randomized study, the researchers compared an intervention based on percussion and musical improvisation with a choir activity. The objective was to investigate whether improvisation would influence the executive functioning and motor skills of healthy elderly people. A set of instruments for psychological and motor assessment was used before and after the procedure. Differences were found in the performance of the participants of the improvisation group in the Clock Drawing Test suggesting possible gains in executive function. There were gains, regardless of the group, in part A of the Trail Making Test, which indicates a sustained attention. No evidence of motor effects was found in this study. The results suggest that musical activities can contribute to the prevention of cognitive decline caused by aging.


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