INS NYC 2024 Program

Poster	Poster Session 06 Program Schedule 02/15/2024 04:00 pm - 05:15 pm Room: Majestic Complex (Posters 61-120) Poster Session 06: Aging \| MCI \| Neurodegenerative Disease - PART 2 Final Abstract #109 Feasibility and Validity of the Multi-Day Boston Remote Assessment of Neurocognitive Health (BRANCH) Among Cognitively Unimpaired Older Adults and Those with Mild Cognitive Impairment Emma Weizenbaum, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, United States Stephanie Hsieh, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, United States Cassidy Molinare, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, United States Daniel Soberanes, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, United States Caitlyn Christiano, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, United States Andrea Roman, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, United States Juliana Anzai, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, United States Stephanie Moreno, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, United States Emily Campbell, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, United States Hyun-Sik Yang, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, United States Reisa Sperling, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, United States Kathryn Papp, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, United States Rebecca Amariglio, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, United States Category: Dementia (Alzheimer's Disease) Keyword 1: technology Keyword 2: mild cognitive impairment Keyword 3: test development Objective: To assess cognitive changes in the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease we need sensitive measures that remain feasible and valid as individuals progress from cognitively unimpaired (CU) to mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Unsupervised, remote digital assessment may be especially useful towards this aim as the format allows for more frequent, flexible, and lower burden paradigms compared to in-person testing. Here, we examine the feasibility and validity of digital assessment of learning over 7 days among CU and MCI. Participants and Methods: The Multi-Day Boston Remote Assessment for Neurocognitive Health (BRANCH) is a web-based assessment administered for 10-15 minutes per day, over seven 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). Following each day’s assessment, participants were also asked to rate enjoyability (1-10) of the tasks and report contextual factors they experienced (e.g., tech difficulties, anxiety). Participants were recruited from the Memory and Aging Cohort (MAC), an observational study that recruits older adults with a wide range of cognitive functioning (CU~dementia). We included MAC participants who are 55+ years old and completed an in-person mini-mental status exam (MMSE) and the Quick Dementia Rating System (QDRS – study-partner-reported measure, used for diagnostic classification). Participants completed Multi-Day BRANCH at home, on their own digital devices, for seven days. We examined differences in feasibility and acceptability between CU and MCI, assessed the association with MMSE, and used a logistic regression to evaluate Multi-Day BRANCH as a predictor of diagnostic classification. Results: The current study sample includes 33 CU older adults (Mean Age & Range= 64.5 [57-76]; Mean MMSE and Range = 29 [28-30]) and 41 with MCI (Mean Age & Range= 68.2 [55-83]; Mean MMSE and Range= 28 [16-30]). Adherence was high in both groups, with only 4/74 participants with incomplete study periods. The average daily enjoyability rating across tasks, days, and groups was consistently above 5/10 (0-not enjoyable-10-very), with enjoyability increasing in both groups across tests (e.g., Face-Name B=0.32, p<0.001; ns by diagnosis). When controlling for demographic variables, both Day 1 performance (B = -1.49, p < 0.001; Cohen’s d = 0.93) and the seven-day composite learning slope (B = -3.19, p < 0.001; Cohen’s d = 0.99) were significant predictors of diagnostic status. Lastly, multi-day BRANCH performance was significantly correlated with MMSE scores (r = 0.57, p <0.001) and QDRS total scores (r = -0.43, p <0.001). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that seven days of remote, brief cognitive assessment of learning curves was feasible and valid in a registry sample that included individuals with and without MCI. Importantly, adherence and task enjoyability were high in both groups, indicating that a digital format and multi-day paradigm can be used longitudinally to track cognition across CU and MCI. Furthermore, the multi-day BRANCH measure showed convergent validity with traditional cognitive screening, and both initial task performance and 7-day learning scores provided added value as predictors of diagnosis.

Poster

02/15/2024
04:00 pm - 05:15 pm
Room: Majestic Complex (Posters 61-120)

Poster Session 06: Aging | MCI | Neurodegenerative Disease - PART 2

Final Abstract #109

Feasibility and Validity of the Multi-Day Boston Remote Assessment of Neurocognitive Health (BRANCH) Among Cognitively Unimpaired Older Adults and Those with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Emma Weizenbaum, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, United States
Stephanie Hsieh, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, United States
Cassidy Molinare, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, United States
Daniel Soberanes, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, United States
Caitlyn Christiano, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, United States
Andrea Roman, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, United States
Juliana Anzai, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, United States
Stephanie Moreno, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, United States
Emily Campbell, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, United States
Hyun-Sik Yang, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, United States
Reisa Sperling, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, United States
Kathryn Papp, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, United States
Rebecca Amariglio, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, United States

Category: Dementia (Alzheimer's Disease)

Keyword 1: technology
Keyword 2: mild cognitive impairment
Keyword 3: test development

Objective:

To assess cognitive changes in the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease we need sensitive measures that remain feasible and valid as individuals progress from cognitively unimpaired (CU) to mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Unsupervised, remote digital assessment may be especially useful towards this aim as the format allows for more frequent, flexible, and lower burden paradigms compared to in-person testing. Here, we examine the feasibility and validity of digital assessment of learning over 7 days among CU and MCI.

Participants and Methods:

The Multi-Day Boston Remote Assessment for Neurocognitive Health (BRANCH) is a web-based assessment administered for 10-15 minutes per day, over seven 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). Following each day’s assessment, participants were also asked to rate enjoyability (1-10) of the tasks and report contextual factors they experienced (e.g., tech difficulties, anxiety). Participants were recruited from the Memory and Aging Cohort (MAC), an observational study that recruits older adults with a wide range of cognitive functioning (CU~dementia). We included MAC participants who are 55+ years old and completed an in-person mini-mental status exam (MMSE) and the Quick Dementia Rating System (QDRS – study-partner-reported measure, used for diagnostic classification). Participants completed Multi-Day BRANCH at home, on their own digital devices, for seven days. We examined differences in feasibility and acceptability between CU and MCI, assessed the association with MMSE, and used a logistic regression to evaluate Multi-Day BRANCH as a predictor of diagnostic classification.

Results:

The current study sample includes 33 CU older adults (Mean Age & Range= 64.5 [57-76]; Mean MMSE and Range = 29 [28-30]) and 41 with MCI (Mean Age & Range= 68.2 [55-83]; Mean MMSE and Range= 28 [16-30]). Adherence was high in both groups, with only 4/74 participants with incomplete study periods. The average daily enjoyability rating across tasks, days, and groups was consistently above 5/10 (0-not enjoyable-10-very), with enjoyability increasing in both groups across tests (e.g., Face-Name B=0.32, p<0.001; ns by diagnosis). When controlling for demographic variables, both Day 1 performance (B = -1.49, p < 0.001; Cohen’s d = 0.93) and the seven-day composite learning slope (B = -3.19, p < 0.001; Cohen’s d = 0.99) were significant predictors of diagnostic status. Lastly, multi-day BRANCH performance was significantly correlated with MMSE scores (r = 0.57, p <0.001) and QDRS total scores (r = -0.43, p <0.001).

Conclusions:

Our findings suggest that seven days of remote, brief cognitive assessment of learning curves was feasible and valid in a registry sample that included individuals with and without MCI. Importantly, adherence and task enjoyability were high in both groups, indicating that a digital format and multi-day paradigm can be used longitudinally to track cognition across CU and MCI. Furthermore, the multi-day BRANCH measure showed convergent validity with traditional cognitive screening, and both initial task performance and 7-day learning scores provided added value as predictors of diagnosis.