Beta Amyloid Peptide: Research Paper : Detection of Cognitive Dysfunction in Elderly with a Low Educational Level Using a Reaction-Time Attention Task

Detection of Cognitive Dysfunction in Elderly with a Low Educational Level Using a Reaction-Time Attention Task

Abstract

Background: Scales for cognitive deterioration usually depend on education level.

Objective: We aimed to study the clinical utility of a culture-free Go/No-Go task in a multi-ethnic cohort with low education level.

Methods: Sixty-four participants with less than 4 years of formal education were included and divided on the basis of their Clinical-Dementia-Rate scores (CDR) into cognitively unimpaired (CDR = 0), mild cognitive impairment (MCI; CDR = 0.5), and early Alzheimer's disease (AD, CDR = 1). All underwent a 90-s Continuous Visual Attention Test. This test consisted of a 90-s Go/No-go task with 72 (80%) targets and 18 (20%) non-targets. For each participant, reaction times and intraindividual variability of reaction times of all correct target responses, as well as the number of omission and commission errors were evaluated. Coefficient of variability was calculated for each participant by dividing the standard deviation of the reaction times by the mean reaction time. A MANCOVA was performed to examine between-group differences using age and sex as covariates. Discriminate analysis was performed to find the most reliable test-variable to discriminate the three groups.

Results: Commission error, intraindividual variability of reaction time, and coefficient of variability progressively worsened with increasing CDR level. Discriminant analysis demonstrated that coefficient of variability was the best discriminant factor, followed by intraindividual variability of reaction time and commission error.

Conclusion: The Go/No-Go task was able to discriminate people with MCI or early AD from controls in the setting of illiteracy.

Keywords: Attention; cognitive dysfunction; dementia; neuropsychology; reaction time.

This article originally appeared in the "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33136095/" and has their copyrights. We do not claim copyright on the content. This information is for research purposes only. This Blog is made available by publishers for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding , not to provide specific advice. By using this blog site you understand that there is no client relationship between you and the Blog publisher. The Blog should not be used as a substitute for competent research advice.