Design process and preliminary psychometric study of a video game to detect cognitive impairment in senior adults

Author:

Valladares-Rodriguez Sonia1,Perez-Rodriguez Roberto1,Facal David2,Fernandez-Iglesias Manuel J.1,Anido-Rifon Luis1,Mouriño-Garcia Marcos1

Affiliation:

1. School of Telecommunication Engineering, University of Vigo, Vigo, Spain

2. Department of Developmental Psychology, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Abstract

Introduction Assessment of episodic memory has been traditionally used to evaluate potential cognitive impairments in senior adults. Typically, episodic memory evaluation is based on personal interviews and pen-and-paper tests. This article presents the design, development and a preliminary validation of a novel digital game to assess episodic memory intended to overcome the limitations of traditional methods, such as the cost of its administration, its intrusive character, the lack of early detection capabilities, the lack of ecological validity, the learning effect and the existence of confounding factors. Materials and Methods Our proposal is based on the gamification of the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) and it has been designed to comply with the psychometric characteristics of reliability and validity. Two qualitative focus groups and a first pilot experiment were carried out to validate the proposal. Results A more ecological, non-intrusive and better administrable tool to perform cognitive assessment was developed. Initial evidence from the focus groups and pilot experiment confirmed the developed game’s usability and offered promising results insofar its psychometric validity is concerned. Moreover, the potential of this game for the cognitive classification of senior adults was confirmed, and administration time is dramatically reduced with respect to pen-and-paper tests. Limitations Additional research is needed to improve the resolution of the game for the identification of specific cognitive impairments, as well as to achieve a complete validation of the psychometric properties of the digital game. Conclusion Initial evidence show that serious games can be used as an instrument to assess the cognitive status of senior adults, and even to predict the onset of mild cognitive impairments or Alzheimer’s disease.

Funder

government of Galicia (Xunta de Galicia, Spain)

Publisher

PeerJ

Subject

General Agricultural and Biological Sciences,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology,General Medicine,General Neuroscience

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