Psychologix

This battery was developed by Dr. Thomas Crook and his colleagues at the National Institute of Mental Health more than 25 years ago. A fundamental difference between this battery and others is that all tests are simulations of tasks that are performed in everyday life. Impairment on these tasks in the community often constitutes the principal symptoms of memory pathology reported by individuals, members of their families and other observers. Thus, the tests are said to be ecologically valid and test performance has been shown to be closely related to performance on important tasks of everyday life. The tests simulate such tasks as remembering the name of an individual after introduction, recognizing faces, recalling where objects have been placed within a house, and remembering telephone numbers.

The Psychologix test battery has undergone continuous refinement and more than 200 published studies have demonstrated its reliability and validity. The Psychologix test battery has been used in drug trials by most of the leading international pharmaceutical companies and by many smaller biotechnology companies. The battery has been shown to be highly sensitive to both therapeutic and adverse effects, and although the tests are computerized, examinees are not required to use a mouse, keyboard or other manipulanda with which they may be unfamiliar. Responses are simply verbal or make use of a large touchscreen.

All tests are modeled on important (1-10) cognitive tasks of daily life, each is sensitive to “normal” developmental changes that occur with advancing age, and each has been described independently in a peer-reviewed academic journal.

Tests are sensitive to early signs of neurologic disease (11,12), neurosurgical procedures, sedating (13) and anti-cholinergic drugs (14,15,16), cholinergic treatments that modestly improve cognition (17,18), and behavioral techniques that improve learning and memory (19).

Tests are reliable (20) and available in at least six alternate forms in each of five languages (21-25).

Relationships among tests have been thoroughly established in different populations, factor structures of the test battery have been provided (22-25), inter-individual patterns of performance have been described (26), and non-cognitive factors affecting performance have been described in detail (24,27).

Normative data have been collected from tens of thousands of carefully screened subjects of all ages in eight countries (1-10,24-27,29,34,41)

Performance on Psychologix tests can be paired with subjective assessments of cognitive performance and affective status completed by the subject, a family member (33-37) or a clinician (38)

Tests are accepted as relevant to daily life, even by older persons not familiar with computers (39)

Tests were expressly designed to detect clinically relevant drug effects (23,42-49)

Tests are based on cognitive paradigms used to discover drug effects in animals (50)

Name-Face Association Test – Immediate and Delayed Recall. In this test, subjects are presented with a live video presentation of individuals introducing themselves by common first names. After a series of introductions, recall is assessed by showing the same individuals in a different order and asking the subject to provide the name of each person. There are two learning trials in which fourteen name-face pairs are presented and recall is assessed. Delayed recall is assessed thirty minutes later.

Facial Recognition Test – Delayed Non-Matching to Sample. On the first trial of this test, subjects are presented with a single facial photograph on a touch screen monitor and asked to touch the face. On each of 24 subsequent trials, a new face is added to the array and the subject is required to identify the new face by touching it in the monitor. Each trial is separated from the preceding trial by an eight second interval during which the screen is black. Feedback is provided on each trial in the form of a red square that appears momentarily around the photograph if it is correctly identified.

First-Last Names Test -Immediate and Delayed Recall. In this test subjects are presented on the computer screen with six pairs of first and last names and asked to read each pair aloud. One pair is presented at a time. The last name corresponding in each pair is then presented and and subjects are asked to provide the corresponding first name. This procedure is repeated three times with the same name pairs and then delayed recall is assessed after a 30 minute delay.

Misplaced Objects Test This is a test in which one creates the information that is to be remembered. The subject is shown representations of 20 easily misplaced objects (eg, keys) and is asked to place each within 12 rooms in a cross-section of a house shown on the touchscreen monitor. The limitation is that no more than two objects can be placed in a single room. After a 30 minute delay (during which other tests are administered) the subject must recall where each item was placed by touching the correct room.

Telephone Dialing Test This task is a variation on the standard digit recall paradigm. Participants are presented with a series of ten-digit (long distance) telephone numbers on the monitor screen and asked to read them aloud. The number then disappears form the screen and subjects are instructed to dial the number on a representation of a touch-tone phone on the computer screen. On two of these trials the subject encounters interference in the form of a busy signal and must redial from memory. Four trials are conducted, with credit being given for each digit dialed in the correct position, regardless of errors made elsewhere in the sequence.

1.	Crook, T.H. & West, R.L. Name recall performance across the adult life span. British Journal of Psychology, 81, 335-349, 1990.
2.	Crook, T.H., Larrabee, G.J. & Youngjohn, J.R. Age of incidental recall a simulated everyday memory task. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 48(1), 45-47, 1993.
3.	West, R.L. & Crook, T.H. Age differences in everyday memory: Laboratory analogues of telephone number recall. Psychology and Aging, 5(4), 520-529.
4.	Crook, T.H. & Larrabee, G.J. Changes in facial recognition memory across the adult life span. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 47(3).
5.	Youngjohn, J.R., Larrabee, G.J., & Crook, T.H. First-Last Names and the Grocery List Selective Reminding Test: Two computerized measures of everyday verbal learning. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 6, 287-300.
6.	Crook, T.H. Youngjohn, J.R., & Larrabee, G.J. The misplaced objects test: A measure of everyday visual memory. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 12(6), 819-833, 1990.
7.	Crook, T.H. Youngjohn, J.R., G.J. TV news test: A new measure of everyday memory for prose. Neuropsychology, 5, 135-145, 1990.
8.	Hill, R.D., Crook, T.H., Zadeik, A., Sheikh, J., & Yesavage, J. (1989). The effects of age on recall of information from a simulated television news broadcast. Educational Gerontology, 5(1), 607-613.
9.	Crook, T.H., West, R.L., & Larrabee, G.J. The Driving-Reaction Time Test: Assessing age declines in dual-task performance. Developmental Neuropsychology, 9(1), 41-53, 1993.
10.	Crook, T., Youngjohn, J.R., & Larrabee, G.J. The influence of age, gender, and cues on computer simulated topographic memory. Developmental Neuropsychology, 9(1), 41-53, 1993.
11.	Larrabee, G.J., Youngjohn, J.R., Sudilovsky, A., & Crook, T.H. Accelerated forgetting in Alzheimer-type dementia. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 15(5), 701-712, 1993.
12.	Youngjohn, J.R., Larrabee, G.J., & Crook, T.H. Discriminating Age-Associated Memory Impairment from Alzheimer’s disease. Psychological Assessment: A Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 4(1), 54-59, 1992.
13.	Ivnik, R.J. Malec, J.F. Sharbrough, F.W., Cascino, G.D., Hirschorn, K.A., Crook, T.H., & Larrabee, G.J. Traditional and computerized assessment procedures applied to the evaluation of memory change after temporal lobectomy. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 8, 69-81, 1993.
14.	Nickelsen, T. Lufkin, R.G., Riggs, B.L., Cox, D.A., & Crook, T.H. Raloxifene hydrochloride, a selective estrogen reception modulator: Safety assessment of effects on cognitive function and mood in postmenopausal women. Nueroimmunoendocrinology, 24, 115-128, 1999.
15.	Kay, G., Crook, T., Rekeda, L., Lima, R., Ebinger, U., Arguinzoniz, M., Steel, M. Differential effects of the antimuscarinic agents darifenacin and oxybutynin ER on memory in older subjects. European Journal of Urology, 50, 317-326, 2006
16.	Jenkyn, L.R, Coffee, D.J., Coffee, L.R. & Wells, C. Effects of antidepressants on cognitive and motor function in the elderly. Psychopharmacology Bulletin, 21 (6), 41-46, 1995.
17.	Crook, T.H. Tinklenberg, J.R. Yesavage, J. Petrie, W.M., Nunzi, M.G., & Massari, D.C. Effects of phosphatidylserine in Age-Associated Memory Impairment. Neurology,41 (5), 644-649, 1991.
18.	Crook, T.H. Treatment of Age-Related Cognitive Decline: Effects of Phosphatidylserine: In R.M. Klatz & R. Goldman (Eds.), Anti-Aging Medical Therapeutics, II, pp. 20-28. Marina del Rey, California: Health Quest Publications, 1998.
19.	West, R.L. & Crook, T.H. Video training of imagery for mature adults. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 6(4), 307-320, 1992.
20.	Youngjohn, J.R., Larrabee, G.J., & Crook, T.H. Test-retest reliability of computerized, everyday memory measure and traditional memory tests. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 6(3), 276, 1992.
21.	Youngjohn, J.R. & Crook, T.H. Stability of everyday memory in Age-Associated Memory Impairment: A longitudinal study. Neuropsychology, 7(3), 406-416, 1993.
22.	Crooks, T.H., Youngjohn, J.R., & Larrabee, G.J. Multiple equivalent test forms in a computerized, everyday memory battery. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 7, 221-232, 1992.
23.	Crook, T.H., Johnson, B.A., & Larrabee, G.J. Evaluation of drugs in Alzheimer’s disease and Age-Associated Memory Impairment. In O. Benkert, W. Maier, & K Rickels (Eds.), Methodology for the Evaluation of Psychotropic Drugs, pp. 37-55. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, 1990.
24.	Crook, T.H., Youngjohn, J.R. Larrabee, G.J., & Salama, M. Aging and everyday memory: A cross-cultural study. Neuropsychology, 6(2), 123-136, 1992.
25.	Zappala, G., Martini, E., Crook, T., & Amaducci, L. Ecological memory assessment in normal aging: A preliminary report on an Italian population. New Development in Neuropsychological Evaluation, 5(3), 583-594, 1089.
26.	Crook, T.H., Lebowitz, B.D., Pirozzolo, F.J., Zappala, G. Cavarzeran, F., Measso, G., & Massari, D.C. Recalling names after introduction: Changes across the adult life-span in two cultures. Developmental Neuropsychology, 9(2), 103-113, 1993.
27.	Crooks, T.H. & Larrabee, G.J. Interrelationships among everyday memory tests: Stability of factor structure with age. Neuropsychology, 2, 1-12, 1988.
28.	Larrabee, G.J. & Crook, T.H. Dimensions of everyday memory in Age-Associated Memory Impairment. Psychological Assessment: A Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1(2), 92-97, 1989.
29.	West, R.L., Crook, T.H., & Barron, K.L. Everyday memory performance across the life span: The effects of age and noncognitive individual differences. Psychology and Aging, 7(1), 72-82, 1992.
30.	Tomer, A., Larrabee, G.J., & Crook, T.H. Structure of everyday memory in adults with Age-Associated Memory Impairment. Psychology and Aging, 9(4), 606-615, 1994.
31.	Larrabee, G.J. & Crook, T.H. Performance subtypes of everyday memory function. Developmental Neuropsychology, 5(4), 267-283, 1989.
32.	Larrabee, .J. & Crook, T.H. Do men show more rapid age-associated decline in simulated everyday verbal memory then do woman? Psychology and Aging, 8(1), 68-71, 1993.
33.	Crook, T. & Larrabee, G. A self-rating scale for evaluating memory in everyday life. Psychology and Aging, 5(1), 48-57, 1990.
34.	Crook, T.H. & Larrabee, G.J. Normative data on a self rating scale for evaluating memory in everyday life. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 7, 41-51, 1992.
35.	Larrabee, G.J., West, R.L., & Crook, T.H. The association of memory complaint with computer-simulated everyday memory performance. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 13(4), 466-478, 1991.
36.	Feher, E.P., Larrabee, G.J., Sudilovsky, A., & Crook, T.H. Memory self-report in Alzheimer’s disease and in Age-Associated Memory Impairment. Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology, 7(1), 58-65, 1994.
37.	Crook, T.H., Feher, E.P., & Larrabee, G.J. Assessment of memory complaint in Age-Associated Memory Impairment: The MAC-Q. International Psycholgeratics, 4(2), 165-175, 1992.
38.	Crook, T.H., Feher, E.P., & Larrabee, G.J. Initial validation of the MAC-P: A new clinical-rated scale for cognitive and affective changes in dementia. The Clinical Nueropsychologist, 7(4), 420-429, 1993.
39.	Ivnik, R.J., Malec, J.F., Tangalos, E.G., & Crook, T.H. Older persons’ reaction to computerized testing versus traditional testing by psychometrists. The Clinical Nueropsychologist, 10(2), 149-151, 1996.
40.	Youngjohn, J.R. & Crook, T.H. Learning, forgetting, and retrieval of everyday material across the adult life span. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 15(4), 447-460, 1993.
41.	Crook, T.H., Larrabee, G.J., & Youngjohn, J.R. Diagnosis and Assessment of Age-Associated Memory Impairment. Clinical Neuropharmacology, 13(3), S81-291, 1990.
42.	Larrabee, G.J., Youngjohn, J.R., Feher, E.P., & Crook, T.H. Evaluation of treatment effects in memory disorders of aging. In M. Bergener, R.H. Belmaker, & M.S. Tropper (Eds.), Psychopharmacotherapy for the Elderly: Research and Clinical Implications, pp. 13-27. New York: Springer, 1993.
43.	Crook, T.H. Assessment of drug effects in Age-Associated Memory Impairment. In N. Canal, V. Hachiniski, G. McKhann, & M. Franceschi (Eds.), Guidelines for Drug Trials in Memory Disorders, Aging Series, Vol. 39, pp. 245-249. New York: Raven Press, LTD. 1993.
44.	Crook, T.H. Assessment of clinical efficacy of cognitive enhancers. In G. Racagni & J. Mendlewicz (Eds.), Treatment of Age-Related Cognitive Dysfunction: Pharmacological and Clinical Evaluation International Academy for Biomedical and Drug Research, Vol 2, pp. 94-107. Basel: Karger, 1992.
45.	Larrabee, G.J. & Crook, T.H. Computerized memory testing in clinical trials. In E. Mohr & P. Brouwers (Eds.), Handbook of Clinical Trials: The Neurobehavioral Approach, pp. 293-306. Amsterdam: Swet & Zeitlinger, 1991.
46.	Larrabee, G.J. & Crook, T.H. The ecological validity of memory testing procedures: Developments in the assessment of everyday memory. In: R.J. Sbordone & C.J. Long (Eds.), Ecological Validity of Neuropsychological Testing, pp. 225-242. Delray Beach, Florida: GR Press/St. Lucie Press 1996.
47.	Larrabee, G.J. & Crook, T.H. Assessment of learning and memory. In R.L. Mapou & J. Spector (Eds.), Clinical Neuropsychological Assessment: A Cognitive Approach, pp. 185-213. New York: Plenum Press, 1995.
48.	Larrabee, G.J. & Crook, T.H. A computerized battery for assessment of everyday memory. In R.L. West & J.D. Sinnot (Eds.), Everyday Memory and Aging: Current Research and Methodlogy, pp. 54-65. New York: Springer-Verlag. 1992.
49.	Larrabee, G.J. & Crook, T.H. Computers and memory. In I. Grant & K.M. Adams (Eds.), Neuropsychological Assessment of Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Second Edition), pp. 102-117. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
50.	Crook, T.H. & Youngjohn, j.R. Development of treatments for memory disorders: The necessary meeting of basic and everyday memory research. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 7, 619-630, 1993.