Can an online battery match in-person cognitive testing in providing information about age-related cortical morphology?

Clinical identification of early neurodegenerative changes requires an accurate and accessible characterization of brain and cognition in healthy aging. We assessed whether a brief online cognitive assessment can provide insights into brain morphology comparable to a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. In 141 healthy mid-life and older adults, we compared Creyos, a relatively brief online cognitive battery, to a comprehensive in person cognitive assessment. We used a multivariate technique to study the ability of each test to inform brain morphology as indexed by cortical sulcal width extracted from structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI).We found that the online test demonstrated comparable strength of association with cortical sulcal width compared to the comprehensive in-person assessment.These findings suggest that in our at-risk sample online assessments are comparable to the in-person assay in their association with brain morphology. With their cost effectiveness, online cognitive testing could lead to more equitable early detection and intervention for neurodegenerative diseases.

Social Inference from Middle to Older Adulthood.

OBJECTIVE: Inferring the emotional state or the true meaning of another person's utterance is a key aspect of social cognition and critical for successful social interactions. In this study, we assess age-related differences in emotion recognition and sincere and sarcastic social exchanges in the context of cognitive and demographic factors. METHOD: One hundred and eighty-seven adults ranging from middle to older adulthood completed the Mini-SEA Emotion Recognition test and Part B of The Awareness of Social Inference Test - Short Form (TASIT-S). Fluid intelligence and executive abilities were also assessed. Sex differences and the relationship with education level were also investigated. Regression models were used to assess age-related differences controlling for baseline cognitive and demographic factors. RESULTS: Age was negatively associated with accuracy for inferring sincere social exchanges. No differences were identified for accuracy for inferring sarcastic exchanges. Likewise, no age differences were identified for emotion recognition (Mini-SEA). Fluid intelligence was associated with accuracy for inferring sincere exchanges, but this was independent of age-related effects. A female advantage was identified for emotion recognition. CONCLUSION: Age is associated with difficulty in inferring sincere exchanges, which is not explained by fluid intelligence, verbal abstract reasoning, or auditory verbal attention. A female advantage in emotion recognition is consistent with findings reported in younger adults. Both age and sex should be considered in clinical assessments using the Mini-SEA and the TASIT-S.