Assessing Dual-Task Performance Using a Paper-and-Pencil Test: Normative Data

Abstract

Although several studies have described dual-tasking ability in normal aging, Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's disease, no normative data for dual-task performance exist. Dual-tasking ability of 436 healthy individuals, aged 16-88 years, was assessed using a new paper-and-pencil dual-task paradigm. In this study, no age effect was detected, providing strong evidence that age does not affect dual-tasking abilities. Psychometric data for this new assessment are presented, which may enable clinicians and researchers to use this paradigm as a means of examining attentional control in dual-tasking.

The Bangor Voice Matching Test: A standardized test for the assessment of voice perception ability

“…The digit span test requires participants to listen to a list of numbers which they have to recall in the correct order (test protocol as used by Della Sala, Foley, Beschin, Allerhand, & Logie, 2010 ). List length increases with successful completion of each set of numbers.…”

“…We administered the following tests in randomized order: our voice-matching test, the short GFMT to assess face-matching abilities (Burton et al, 2010 ), the internet-based Profile of Music Perception Skills to assess general auditory abilities (Law & Zentner, 2012 ), and a digit span test for auditory working memory (Della Sala et al, 2010 ). The Glasgow Voice Memory Test (Aglieri et al, 2016 ) was also assessed to compare performance on both standardized voice ability tests.…”

Brain training in progress: a review of trainability in healthy seniors

“…Studies of cognitive switching commonly report a decline in older age (Wecker et al, 2005), although there is also some evidence to the contrary (Logie et al, 2004; Della Sala et al, 2010). Age effects have been seen to diminish after extensive training on a switching task (Kramer et al, 1999), even when requiring switching between four different tasks (Buchler et al, 2008).…”

“…Such variation is likely to cause inconsistencies within training studies, resulting in poor conclusions about the success of certain interventions or inaccurate rejections of training paradigms that could be helpful to some, but might not work for most. Some studies that attempt to take individual variation in baseline parameters (such as working-memory capacity or general processing efficiency) into account even arrive at the conclusion that age-related differences in cognitive performance can be reduced to age-related differences in these baseline parameters (Eenshuistra et al, 2004; Della Sala et al, 2010). Current brain training research is based on the question whether a paradigm is either successful or unsuccessful; instead, we might profit more from asking for whom the training works, and how these individuals vary from the rest, in terms of behavioral and neuroimaging measures.…”

Development and Validation of a Modified Multiple Errands Test for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities

“…; Della Sala et al . ) or tap ‘switching’ or ‘set shifting’ skills that may load onto executive abilities and be problematic for people with intellectual disabilities (Ball et al . ; Kittler et al .…”