INS NYC 2024 Program

Poster	Poster Session 02 Program Schedule 02/15/2024 08:00 am - 09:15 am Room: Majestic Complex (Posters 61-120) Poster Session 02: Aging \| MCI \| Neurodegenerative Disease - PART 1 Final Abstract #79 Measuring Effort-Based Decision-Making Across the Lifespan: An Update on Task Development and Validation. Bonnie Scott, The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, United States Amtul-noor Rana, The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, San Antonio, United States Robin Hilsabeck, The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, United States Category: Assessment/Psychometrics/Methods (Adult) Keyword 1: effort testing Keyword 2: motivation Keyword 3: aging (normal) Objective: Accumulating research suggests that disorders of diminished motivation, such as apathy and anhedonia, are stronger predictors of age-related neurocognitive disorders than other neuropsychiatric sequelae associated with the earliest stages of a neurodegenerative process, such as Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD). However, extant behavioral measures of motivated decision-making have been developed with convenience samples of healthy younger adults (YA), and have yet to be validated for use in older adults (OA). In the current study, we present pilot data collected as part of a larger project which aims to validate an objective behavioral measure of effort in OAs by investigating the effects of age (YA vs. OA), risk and reward (gain vs. risk trials), and effort type (physical vs. cognitive) on motivated decision-making. Participants and Methods: Three modified versions of the Effort Expenditure for Rewards Task (EEfRT) were developed, including one requiring physical effort (i.e., finger tapping: P-EEfRT), and two task variations requiring cognitive effort (i.e., working memory: C-EEfRT-V1<C-EEfRT-V2 difficulty). Eight younger (YA: ages 20-26) and five older (OA: ages 60-67) adults completed these tasks along with an apathy questionnaire (DAS). Results: YAs and OAs did not differ in other demographic characteristics nor in overall performance accuracy across the three pilot tasks. Total hard task selection frequency (HTSF) was greater for OAs vs. YAs on the P-EEfRT and C-EEfRT-V1 and increased in OAs while declining in YAs despite both groups exhibiting a steady improvement in accuracy over the course of both tasks. This pattern reversed during C-EEfRT-V2 administration, with HTSF and accuracy scores dropping by about 28% and 8% in YAs and by 88% and 23% in OAs, respectively. Across all three pilot tasks, a significantly higher HTSF was found on trials with the possibility of gaining vs. losing points in the YA but not OA group, the former of which also endorsed a significantly greater number of executive items on the DAS. Lastly, an inverse relationship was also observed between apathy symptom severity and HTSF to varying degrees across the three pilot tasks. Conclusions: Findings concerning the first two tasks are largely consistent with prior work, while that of the C-EEfRT-V2 should be interpreted with greater caution due to the confounding impact of fatigue and order of administration in such a small sample. However, these data also suggest the need for a number of additional modifications we plan to implement prior to enrolling actual study participants.

Poster

02/15/2024
08:00 am - 09:15 am
Room: Majestic Complex (Posters 61-120)

Poster Session 02: Aging | MCI | Neurodegenerative Disease - PART 1

Final Abstract #79

Measuring Effort-Based Decision-Making Across the Lifespan: An Update on Task Development and Validation.

Bonnie Scott, The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, United States
Amtul-noor Rana, The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, San Antonio, United States
Robin Hilsabeck, The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, United States

Category: Assessment/Psychometrics/Methods (Adult)

Keyword 1: effort testing
Keyword 2: motivation
Keyword 3: aging (normal)

Objective:

Accumulating research suggests that disorders of diminished motivation, such as apathy and anhedonia, are stronger predictors of age-related neurocognitive disorders than other neuropsychiatric sequelae associated with the earliest stages of a neurodegenerative process, such as Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD). However, extant behavioral measures of motivated decision-making have been developed with convenience samples of healthy younger adults (YA), and have yet to be validated for use in older adults (OA). In the current study, we present pilot data collected as part of a larger project which aims to validate an objective behavioral measure of effort in OAs by investigating the effects of age (YA vs. OA), risk and reward (gain vs. risk trials), and effort type (physical vs. cognitive) on motivated decision-making.

Participants and Methods:

Three modified versions of the Effort Expenditure for Rewards Task (EEfRT) were developed, including one requiring physical effort (i.e., finger tapping: P-EEfRT), and two task variations requiring cognitive effort (i.e., working memory: C-EEfRT-V1<C-EEfRT-V2 difficulty). Eight younger (YA: ages 20-26) and five older (OA: ages 60-67) adults completed these tasks along with an apathy questionnaire (DAS).

Results:

YAs and OAs did not differ in other demographic characteristics nor in overall performance accuracy across the three pilot tasks. Total hard task selection frequency (HTSF) was greater for OAs vs. YAs on the P-EEfRT and C-EEfRT-V1 and increased in OAs while declining in YAs despite both groups exhibiting a steady improvement in accuracy over the course of both tasks. This pattern reversed during C-EEfRT-V2 administration, with HTSF and accuracy scores dropping by about 28% and 8% in YAs and by 88% and 23% in OAs, respectively. Across all three pilot tasks, a significantly higher HTSF was found on trials with the possibility of gaining vs. losing points in the YA but not OA group, the former of which also endorsed a significantly greater number of executive items on the DAS. Lastly, an inverse relationship was also observed between apathy symptom severity and HTSF to varying degrees across the three pilot tasks.

Conclusions:

Findings concerning the first two tasks are largely consistent with prior work, while that of the C-EEfRT-V2 should be interpreted with greater caution due to the confounding impact of fatigue and order of administration in such a small sample. However, these data also suggest the need for a number of additional modifications we plan to implement prior to enrolling actual study participants.