Measuring Cognitive Function

Question 1

What are the domain of cognitive function?

Answer 1

• Memory
• Verbal fluency – highly correlated with IQ (stable measure) in nutritional interventions are less sensitive to interventions because they measure stable function
• Spatial ability
• Executive - Planning ability
• Vigilance/Attention
• Psychomotor/Tracking

Question 2

Which test has the best sensitivity for detecting MCI?

Answer 2

MoCA = 90% (the MMSE has only 18%)

Question 3

Give an example of an EF test?

Answer 3

Tower of London or Stockings of Cambridge (move balls from top to bottom)

Question 4

Give an example of a vigilance test?

Answer 4

Bakan (rapid visual info processing)

Press response button when they see three odd or three even in a row

Question 5

Give an example of a verbal memory task?

Answer 5

Shopping list task
(Recall words in a fixed time.
Repeating task 2-3 times gives an estimate or learning)

Question 6

Give an example of an attention test?

Answer 6

Visual search (search for an arrow in a particular rotation)

Question 7

Give an example of a short term memory task?

Answer 7

Corsi blocks (conceptually similar to the digit span task which measures working memory digit storage capacity)
- most people get 6 or 8 blocks correct

Question 8

Give an example of a spatial memory test?

Answer 8

Figure Copy (Rey-Osterreith)

• given a few mins to study the figure
• then need to copy it
• get points for each you get correct

Question 9

What is CANTAB?

Answer 9

– tries to relate functions to areas of the brain, e.g. reaction time – motor cortex or spatial memory – frontal lobes

Question 10

give an example of a global measure

Answer 10

MMSE

Question 11

Evaluate the characteristics of a global test?

Answer 11

• can reflect overall performance, it increases likelihood of finding sig effect – if a few individual tests increase, then the composite based on trends is more likely to be sig
• But might actually be artificially inflated outcomes – can’t say which cog domain is involved
• Hard to determine what the likely mechanism of action is – when you only have score that is the sum of a number of different tests

Question 12

Give some problems with repeated testing?

Answer 12

• Difficulty/matching of items
• practice, boredom and fatigue effects
• floor and ceiling effects

Question 13

What are some key issues in design?

Answer 13

• Cognitive function (is it appropriate?)
• Desired outcome (prevention or enhancement?)
• Duration of effect
• Target population
• Is cause and effect established?

Question 14

What test is the most specific type of test?

Answer 14

• Attention tests
• because well-designed tests of this type do not require aspects of memory or reasoning for task performance, and changes in performance can, thus, be relatively clearly attributed to effects on attentional processes

Question 15

Training effects for less complex tasks tend to plataeu after how many repetitions?

Answer 15

4

Question 16

What is Near-infrared spectroscopy?

Answer 16

• measures the degree of absorption of light in the near-infrared frequency range when directed at cortical tissue directly underlying the intact skull
• Differences in absorption properties associated with oxygenated haemoglobin and deoxygenated haemoglobin – cerebral blood flow can be determined