Table 1. MindStreams Global Assessment Battery (GAB): Description of cognitive domains tested and outcome parameters obtained.
GAB Test | Cognitive Domains Tested | Test Description | Outcome Parameters |
GO-NOGO RESPONSE INHIBITION | Executive Function, Attention | Timed continuous performance test during which responses are made to large colored stimuli that are any color but red. | AccuracyAverage Response TimeResponse Time Standard DeviationErrors of CommissionErrors of OmissionResponse Time for Errors of Commission |
VERBAL MEMORY | Memory | Ten pairs of words (the study set) are presented, followed by a recognition test in which one member (the target) of a previously presented pair appears together with a list of four candidates for the other member of the pair. There are four immediate repetitions and one delayed repetition after 10 minutes. | Immediate RecognitionAccuracy, Repetition 1 to 4Accuracy, Repetitions 1–4Delayed RecognitionAccuracy |
NON-VERBAL MEMORY | Memory | This is similar to the test of verbal memory, except that geometric figures are used instead of words. | Immediate RecognitionAccuracy, Repetition 1 to 4Accuracy, Repetitions 1–4Delayed RecognitionAccuracy |
PROBLEM SOLVING | Executive Function | Pictorial puzzles of gradually increasing difficulty are presented. Each puzzle consists of a 2×2 array containing three black-and-white geometric forms with a certain spatial relationship among them and a missing form. Participants must choose the best fit for the fourth (missing) form from among six possible alternatives. | Accuracy (Non-Verbal IQ) |
STROOP INTERFERENCE | Executive Function, Attention | Timed test of response inhibition and set shifting. For example, in the ‘No Interference [Meaning]’ phase, the task is to choose the color named by a word presented in white letter-color. In the final (‘Interference’) phase, participants choose the letter-color of a word that names a different color. | No Interference: Letter ColorAccuracyAverage Response TimeResponse Time Standard DeviationNo Interference: Word MeaningAccuracyAverage Response TimeResponse Time Standard DeviationInterference: Letter Color vs. Word MeaningAccuracyAverage Response TimeResponse Time Standard Deviation |
FINGER TAPPING | Motor Skills | Participants must tap on the mouse button with their dominant hand. | Inter-Tap IntervalTap Interval Standard Deviation |
CATCH GAME | Executive Function, Motor Skills | A test of motor planning requiring hand-eye coordination and rapid responses. Subjects “catch” a “falling object” by moving a “paddle” horizontally on the computer screen so that it can be positioned directly in the path of the falling object. | Time to Make 1st MoveTime to Make 1st Move Standard DeviationAverage Direction Changes Per TrialAverage Error For Missed CatchesTotal Score |
STAGED INFORMATION PROCESSING SPEED | Attention, Information Processing Speed | This test comprises three levels of information processing load: single digits, two-digit arithmetic problems (e.g., 5-1), and three-digit arithmetic problems (e.g., 3+2-1). For each of the three levels, stimuli are presented at three different fixed rates, incrementally increasing as testing continues. Participants are instructed to respond as quickly as possible by pressing the left mouse button if the digit or result is less than or equal to 4 and the right mouse button if it is greater than 4. | SINGLE DIGIT Slow Speed, Medium, Fast SpeedAccuracyAverage Response TimeResponse Time Standard DeviationTWO-DIGIT ARITHMETIC Slow Speed, Medium, Fast SpeedAccuracyAverage Response TimeResponse Time Standard DeviationTHREE-DIGIT ARITHMETICSlow Speed, Medium, Fast SpeedAccuracyAverage Response TimeResponse Time Standard Deviation |
VERBAL FUNCTION | Verbal Function | Pictures of common objects are presented; in the first phase, the word that best rhymes with the name of the object must be selected from among four choices; in the second phase, the name of the picture must be selected. | RhymingAccuracy, High and Low FamiliarityNamingAccuracy, High and Low Familiarity |
VISUAL SPATIAL PROCESSING | Visual Spatial | Computer-generated scenes containing a red pillar are presented. Participants must select the view of the scene from the vantage point of the red pillar. | Accuracy |
Index scores explanation for GAB cognitive tests.
1. MEMORY: mean accuracies for learning and delayed recognition phases of Verbal and Non-Verbal Memory tests.
2. EXECUTIVE FUNCTION: composite scores (accuracy divided by average response time) for interference phase of the Stroop test and Go-NoGo test, mean weighted accuracy for Catch Game.
3. VISUAL SPATIAL: mean accuracy for Visual Spatial Processing test.
4. VERBAL: weighted accuracy for verbal rhyming test (part of Verbal Function test).
5. ATTENTION: mean response times for the Go-NoGo test and a no interference phase of the Stroop test, mean response time for a low-load stage of Staged Information Processing test, mean standard deviation of response time for the Go-NoGo test, mean accuracy for a medium-load stage of Information Processing test.
6. INFORMATION PROCESSING: composite scores (accuracy divided by average response time) for various low- and medium-load stages of the Staged Information Processing test.
7. MOTOR SKILLS: mean time until first move for Catch Game, mean inter-tap interval and standard deviation of inter-tap interval for Finger Tapping test.