INS NYC 2024 Program

Custom Content	Poster Session 04 Program Schedule 02/15/2024 12:00 pm - 01:15 pm Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60) Poster Session 04: Neuroimaging \| Neurostimulation/Neuromodulation \| Teleneuropsychology/Technology Final Abstract #4 Poster Symposium: Novel Technology-Based Approaches for Cognitive Assessment — Abstract 3 Rapid detection of the earliest amyloid-related changes in memory consolidation: assessment of learning using daily digital testing Kate Papp, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States Roos Jutten, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States Daniel Soberanes, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States Emma Weizenbaum, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States Stephanie Hsieh, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States Cassidy Molinare, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States Keith Johnson, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States Gad Marshall, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States Reisa Sperling, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States Rebecca Amariglio, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States Category: Teleneuropsychology/ Technology Keyword 1: memory disorders Keyword 2: dementia - Alzheimer's disease Keyword 3: aging (normal) Objective: The ability to detect and track subtle Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-related cognitive decrements at the preclinical stage of disease, where treatments may be most effective, has been a significant challenge for the field. Unsupervised, remote digital assessment may be an especially useful solution as the format allows for more frequent, flexible, and lower burden paradigms compared with single timepoint assessments. Towards that end, our objective was to determine whether assessing learning over days via web-based testing reveals Alzheimer’s disease(AD)-biomarker related alterations in memory consolidation that are otherwise undetectable with single timepoint assessments. Participants and Methods: Thirty-six (21.9%) cognitively unimpaired older adults (aged 60-91) were classified with elevated β-amyloid (Aβ+) and 128 (78%) were Aβ- using Positron Emission Tomography with ^11CPittsburgh Compound-B (PiB). Participants completed the Multi-Day Boston Remote Assessment for Neurocognitive Health (BRANCH) for 10 min/day on personal devices (i.e., smartphones, laptops) which captures the trajectory of daily learning of the same content on three repeated tests (Digit Signs, Groceries, Face-Name). Learning is computed as a composite of accuracy across all three measures. Participants also completed standard in-clinic cognitive tests as part of the Preclinical Alzheimer’s Cognitive Composite-(PACC-5) with 123 participants undergoing PACC-5 follow-up after 1.07(SD=0.25) years. Results: At the cross-section, there were no differences in performance between Aβ+/- participants on any standard in-clinic cognitive tests (e.g., PACC-5) or on Day 1 of Multi-Day BRANCH. Aβ+ participants exhibited diminished 7-day learning curves on Multi-Day BRANCH after 4 days of testing relative to Aβ- participants (Cohen’s d=0.49, 95%CI=0.10-0.87). Diminished learning curves were associated with greater annual PACC-5 decline (r=0.54, p<0.001). Conclusions: Very early Aβ-related memory alterations can be revealed by assessing learning over days, suggesting that failures in memory consolidation predate other conventional amnestic deficits in AD. Repeated digital memory assessments, increasingly feasible and uniquely able to assess memory consolidation over short time periods, have the potential to be transformative for detecting the earliest cognitive changes in preclinical AD.

Custom Content

02/15/2024
12:00 pm - 01:15 pm
Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60)

Poster Session 04: Neuroimaging | Neurostimulation/Neuromodulation | Teleneuropsychology/Technology

Final Abstract #4

Poster Symposium: Novel Technology-Based Approaches for Cognitive Assessment — Abstract 3

Rapid detection of the earliest amyloid-related changes in memory consolidation: assessment of learning using daily digital testing

Kate Papp, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States
Roos Jutten, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States
Daniel Soberanes, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States
Emma Weizenbaum, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States
Stephanie Hsieh, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States
Cassidy Molinare, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States
Keith Johnson, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States
Gad Marshall, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States
Reisa Sperling, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States
Rebecca Amariglio, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States

Category: Teleneuropsychology/ Technology

Keyword 1: memory disorders
Keyword 2: dementia - Alzheimer's disease
Keyword 3: aging (normal)

Objective:

The ability to detect and track subtle Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-related cognitive decrements at the preclinical stage of disease, where treatments may be most effective, has been a significant challenge for the field. Unsupervised, remote digital assessment may be an especially useful solution as the format allows for more frequent, flexible, and lower burden paradigms compared with single timepoint assessments. Towards that end, our objective was to determine whether assessing learning over days via web-based testing reveals Alzheimer’s disease(AD)-biomarker related alterations in memory consolidation that are otherwise undetectable with single timepoint assessments.

Participants and Methods:

Thirty-six (21.9%) cognitively unimpaired older adults (aged 60-91) were classified with elevated β-amyloid (Aβ+) and 128 (78%) were Aβ- using Positron Emission Tomography with ^11CPittsburgh Compound-B (PiB). Participants completed the Multi-Day Boston Remote Assessment for Neurocognitive Health (BRANCH) for 10 min/day on personal devices (i.e., smartphones, laptops) which captures the trajectory of daily learning of the same content on three repeated tests (Digit Signs, Groceries, Face-Name). Learning is computed as a composite of accuracy across all three measures. Participants also completed standard in-clinic cognitive tests as part of the Preclinical Alzheimer’s Cognitive Composite-(PACC-5) with 123 participants undergoing PACC-5 follow-up after 1.07(SD=0.25) years.

Results:

At the cross-section, there were no differences in performance between Aβ+/- participants on any standard in-clinic cognitive tests (e.g., PACC-5) or on Day 1 of Multi-Day BRANCH. Aβ+ participants exhibited diminished 7-day learning curves on Multi-Day BRANCH after 4 days of testing relative to Aβ- participants (Cohen’s d=0.49, 95%CI=0.10-0.87). Diminished learning curves were associated with greater annual PACC-5 decline (r=0.54, p<0.001).

Conclusions:

Very early Aβ-related memory alterations can be revealed by assessing learning over days, suggesting that failures in memory consolidation predate other conventional amnestic deficits in AD. Repeated digital memory assessments, increasingly feasible and uniquely able to assess memory consolidation over short time periods, have the potential to be transformative for detecting the earliest cognitive changes in preclinical AD.