Online Tool (Brain Assessment) for the Detection of Cognitive Function Changes during Aging

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Gerontology
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Cognitive function naturally declines with age.
• Existing cognitive tests have single versions, leading to recall bias with repeated use.
• The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for remote health assessments, including cognitive testing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel, multi-version cognitive assessment tool (brain assessment, BA).
• To enable remote administration of cognitive tests via personal computer (PC) over the internet.
• To establish normative data for cognitive scores across different age groups.

Main Methods:

• Developed a 5-version online brain assessment (BA) comprising 5 subtests: number memory, word memory, mental rotation, N-back, and judgment.
• Recruited 5,000 subjects to perform the online BA.
• Standardized raw scores into cognitive scores (CSs) with a mean of 50 and standard deviation of 10, and analyzed age-related trends.

Main Results:

• Cognitive scores (CSs) across all subtests demonstrated a linear decline with advancing age, with regression coefficients ranging from -0.31 to -0.45.
• A notable finding was the increase in CSs observed around 85 years of age in most subtests.
• Established standardized CS values for individuals up to 89 years of age.

Conclusions:

• The 5-version online brain assessment (BA) is a viable tool for longitudinal cognitive monitoring.
• The BA provides a reliable method for comparing individual cognitive changes against normal aging patterns.
• This tool facilitates early identification of accelerated cognitive decline, prompting potential lifestyle interventions.