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Digital assessment of working memory and processing speed in everyday life: Feasibility, validation, and lessons-learned

OBJECTIVES: Cognitive functioning is often impaired in mental and neurological conditions and might fluctuate throughout the day. An existing experience-sampling tool was upgraded to assess individual's cognition in everyday life. The objectives were to test the feasibility and validity of two...

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Autores principales: Daniëls, N.E.M., Bartels, S.L., Verhagen, S.J.W., Van Knippenberg, R.J.M., De Vugt, M.E., Delespaul, Ph.A.E.G
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Elsevier 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6965714/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31970080
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2019.100300
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author Daniëls, N.E.M.
Bartels, S.L.
Verhagen, S.J.W.
Van Knippenberg, R.J.M.
De Vugt, M.E.
Delespaul, Ph.A.E.G
author_facet Daniëls, N.E.M.
Bartels, S.L.
Verhagen, S.J.W.
Van Knippenberg, R.J.M.
De Vugt, M.E.
Delespaul, Ph.A.E.G
author_sort Daniëls, N.E.M.
collection PubMed
description OBJECTIVES: Cognitive functioning is often impaired in mental and neurological conditions and might fluctuate throughout the day. An existing experience-sampling tool was upgraded to assess individual's cognition in everyday life. The objectives were to test the feasibility and validity of two momentary cognition tasks. METHODS: The momentary Visuospatial Working Memory Task (mVSWMT) and momentary Digit Symbol Substitution Task (mDSST) were add-ons to an experience sampling method (ESM) smartphone app. Healthy adults (n = 49) between 19 and 73 years of age performed the tasks within an ESM questionnaire 8 times a day, over 6 consecutive days. Feasibility was determined through completion rate and participant experience. Validity was assessed through contextualization of cognitive performance within intrapersonal and situational factors in everyday life. FINDINGS: Participants experienced the tasks as pleasant, felt motivated, and the completion rate was high (71%). Social context, age, and distraction influenced cognitive performance in everyday life. The mVSWMT was too difficult as only 37% of recalls were correct and thus requires adjustments (i.e. fixed time between encoding and recall; more trials per moment). The mDSST speed outcome seems the most sensitive outcome measure to capture between- and within-person variance. CONCLUSIONS: Short momentary cognition tasks for repeated assessment are feasible and hold promise, but more research is needed to improve validity and applicability in different samples. Recommendations for teams engaging in the field include matching task design with traditional neuropsychological tests and involving a multidisciplinary team as well as users. Special attention for individual needs can improve motivation and prevent frustration. Finally, tests should be attractive and competitive to stimulate engagement, but still reflect actual cognitive functioning.
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spelling pubmed-69657142020-01-22 Digital assessment of working memory and processing speed in everyday life: Feasibility, validation, and lessons-learned Daniëls, N.E.M. Bartels, S.L. Verhagen, S.J.W. Van Knippenberg, R.J.M. De Vugt, M.E. Delespaul, Ph.A.E.G Internet Interv Full length Article OBJECTIVES: Cognitive functioning is often impaired in mental and neurological conditions and might fluctuate throughout the day. An existing experience-sampling tool was upgraded to assess individual's cognition in everyday life. The objectives were to test the feasibility and validity of two momentary cognition tasks. METHODS: The momentary Visuospatial Working Memory Task (mVSWMT) and momentary Digit Symbol Substitution Task (mDSST) were add-ons to an experience sampling method (ESM) smartphone app. Healthy adults (n = 49) between 19 and 73 years of age performed the tasks within an ESM questionnaire 8 times a day, over 6 consecutive days. Feasibility was determined through completion rate and participant experience. Validity was assessed through contextualization of cognitive performance within intrapersonal and situational factors in everyday life. FINDINGS: Participants experienced the tasks as pleasant, felt motivated, and the completion rate was high (71%). Social context, age, and distraction influenced cognitive performance in everyday life. The mVSWMT was too difficult as only 37% of recalls were correct and thus requires adjustments (i.e. fixed time between encoding and recall; more trials per moment). The mDSST speed outcome seems the most sensitive outcome measure to capture between- and within-person variance. CONCLUSIONS: Short momentary cognition tasks for repeated assessment are feasible and hold promise, but more research is needed to improve validity and applicability in different samples. Recommendations for teams engaging in the field include matching task design with traditional neuropsychological tests and involving a multidisciplinary team as well as users. Special attention for individual needs can improve motivation and prevent frustration. Finally, tests should be attractive and competitive to stimulate engagement, but still reflect actual cognitive functioning. Elsevier 2019-12-30 /pmc/articles/PMC6965714/ /pubmed/31970080 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2019.100300 Text en © 2020 The Authors http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
spellingShingle Full length Article
Daniëls, N.E.M.
Bartels, S.L.
Verhagen, S.J.W.
Van Knippenberg, R.J.M.
De Vugt, M.E.
Delespaul, Ph.A.E.G
Digital assessment of working memory and processing speed in everyday life: Feasibility, validation, and lessons-learned
title Digital assessment of working memory and processing speed in everyday life: Feasibility, validation, and lessons-learned
title_full Digital assessment of working memory and processing speed in everyday life: Feasibility, validation, and lessons-learned
title_fullStr Digital assessment of working memory and processing speed in everyday life: Feasibility, validation, and lessons-learned
title_full_unstemmed Digital assessment of working memory and processing speed in everyday life: Feasibility, validation, and lessons-learned
title_short Digital assessment of working memory and processing speed in everyday life: Feasibility, validation, and lessons-learned
title_sort digital assessment of working memory and processing speed in everyday life: feasibility, validation, and lessons-learned
topic Full length Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6965714/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31970080
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2019.100300
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