84 Feasibility and Validity of Remote Digital Assessment of Multi-Day Learning in Cognitively Unimpaired Older Adults

• Published in: Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society 2023-11, Vol.29 (s1), p.487-488
• Main Authors: Weizenbaum, Emma L., Soberanes, Daniel, Hsieh, Stephanie, Schneider, Olivia R, Srinivasan, Shruthi, Buckley, Rachel F, Properzi, Michael J, Rentz, Dorene, Johnson, Keith A, Sperling, Reisa A, Papp, Kathryn V, Amariglio, Rebecca E
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alzheimer's disease; Associative learning; Cognition; Cognitive ability; Demography; Education; Face; Feasibility studies; Gender differences; Information processing; Memory; Neurodegenerative diseases; Older people; Poster Session 05: Neuroimaging | Neurophysiology | Neurostimulation | Technology | Cross Cultural | Multiculturalism | Career Development; Sex differences; Teleneuropsychology/Technology
• ISSN: 1355-6177; 1469-7661
• DOI: 10.1017/S135561772300632X

Objective:Unsupervised remote digital cognitive assessment makes frequent testing feasible and allows for measurement of learning across days on participants’ own devices. More rapid detection of diminished learning may provide a potentially valuable metric that is sensitive to cognitive change over short intervals. In this study we examine feasibility and predictive validity of a novel digital assessment that measures learning of the same material over 7 days in older adults.Participants and Methods:The Boston Remote Assessment for Neurocognitive Health (BRANCH) (Papp et al., 2021) is a web-based assessment administered over 7 consecutive days repeating the same stimuli each day to capture multi-day-learning slopes. The assessment includes Face-Name (verbal-visual associative memory), Groceries-Prices (numeric-visual associative memory), and Digits-Signs (speeded processing of numeric-visual associations). Our sample consisted of200 cognitively unimpaired older adults enrolled in ongoing observational studies (mean age=74.5, 63% female, 87% Caucasian, mean education=16.6) who completed the tasks daily, at home, on their own digital devices. Participants had previously completed in-clinic paper-and-pencil tests to compute a Preclinical Alzheimer’s Cognitive Composite (PACC-5). Mixed-effects models controlling for age, sex, and education were used to observe the associations between PACC-5 scores and both initial performance and multi-day learning on the three BRANCH measures.Results:Adherence was high with 96% of participants completing all seven days of consecutive assessment; demographic factors were not associated with differences in adherence. Younger participants had higher Day 1 scores all three measures, and learning slopes on Digit-Sign. Female participants performed better on Face-Name (T=3.35, p