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American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias logoLink to American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias
. 2011 Jun;26(4):326–333. doi: 10.1177/1533317511411907

Reliability of Repeated Cognitive Assessment of Dementia Using a Brief Computerized Battery

Dustin Hammers 1, Elizabeth Spurgeon 2, Kelly Ryan 3, Carol Persad 4, Judith Heidebrink 5, Nancy Barbas 6, Roger Albin 7, Kirk Frey 8, David Darby 9, Bruno Giordani 10
PMCID: PMC7469666  NIHMSID: NIHMS1620631  PMID: 21636581

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the short-term stability and reliability of a brief computerized cognitive battery in established dementia types. Method: Patients were administered the computerized battery twice with administrations approximately 2 hours apart, with intervening conventional neuropsychological tests. Patients were classified clinically, via consensus conference, as healthy controls (n = 23), mild cognitive impairment (n = 20), Alzheimer’s disease (n = 52), dementia with Lewy Bodies ([DLB], n = 10), or frontotemporal dementia (n = 9). Results: Minimal practice effects were evident across Cog-State test administrations. Small magnitude improvements were seen across all groups on a working memory task, and healthy controls showed a mild practice effect on the accuracy of associative learning. Conclusions: In established dementia, administration of the CogState tasks appears sensitive to cognitive impairment in dementia. Repeat administration also provided acceptable stability and test-retest reliability with minimal practice effects at short test-retest intervals despite intervening cognitive challenges.

Keywords: neuropsychology, assessment, test-retest, CogState, dementia

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Contributor Information

Dustin Hammers, Neuropsychology Section, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA, hammersd@med.umich.edu .

Elizabeth Spurgeon, Neuropsychology Section, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

Kelly Ryan, Neuropsychology Section, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

Carol Persad, Neuropsychology Section, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

Judith Heidebrink, Department of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA, Neurology Service, VAAAHS, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

Nancy Barbas, Department of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA, Neurology Service, VAAAHS, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

Roger Albin, Department of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA, Geriatrics Research, Education, and Clinical Center, VAAAHS, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

Kirk Frey, Department of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA, Department of Radiology (Nuclear Medicine), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

David Darby, CogState Ltd, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Florey Neuroscience Institutes, Parkville, Australia, Centre for Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.

Bruno Giordani, Neuropsychology Section, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

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