Reliability of 5 Novel Reaction Time and Cognitive Load Protocols

Abstract

Context: Reaction time (RT) is crucial to athletic performance. Therefore, when returning athletes to play following injury, it is important to evaluate RT characteristics ensuring a safe return. The Dynavision D2® system may be utilized as an assessment and rehabilitation aid in the determination of RT under various levels of cognitive load. Previous research has demonstrated good reliability of simple protocols when assessed following a 24-to 48-hour test-retest window. Expanding reliable test-retest intervals may further refine novel RT protocols for use as a diagnostic and rehabilitation tool. Objective: To investigate the testretest reliability of a battery of 5 novel RT protocols at different time intervals. Design: Repeated measures/reliability. Setting: Interdisciplinary sports medicine research laboratory. Participants: Thirty healthy individuals. Methods: Participants completed a battery of protocols increasing in difficulty in terms of reaction speed requirement and cognitive load. Prior to testing, participants were provided 3 familiarization trials. All protocols required participants to hit as many lights as quickly as possible in 60 seconds. After completing the initial testing session (session 1), participants waited 1 hour before completing the second session (session 2). Approximately 2 weeks later (average 14 [4] d), the participants completed the same battery of tasks for the third session (session 3). Main Outcome Measures: The intraclass correlation coefficient, standard error of measurement, minimal detectable change, and repeated-measures analysis of variance were calculated for RT. Results: The intraclass correlation coefficient values for each of the 5 protocols illustrated good to excellent reliability between sessions 1, 2, and 3 (.75-.90). There were no significant differences across time points (F < 0.105, P > .05). Conclusions: The 1-hour and 14-day test-retest intervals are reliable for clinical assessment, expanding the time frames previously reported in the literature of when assessments can be completed reliably. This study provides novel protocols that challenge cognition in unique ways. Keywords: testing and measurement, clinical-evaluation, evaluationIn athletic situations, reaction time (RT), or the time it takes one to respond to a stimulus, 1 is crucial to an individual's ability to protect themselves from opponents and dangers of the sport. Previous research has found that athletes have faster RTs and movements compared with nonathletic individuals, potentially to avoid risk of game play such as player-to-player contact or to react quicker than opponents providing an advantage. 2,3 Therefore, when returning athletes to play following a concussion, it is important to evaluate RT characteristics to ensure a safe return to participation. RT is vital following concussion and is often impaired as a result of these injuries. 4 Postinjury standard of care typically involves complete cognitive and physical rest, although emerging evidence suggests more active management strategi...

The Reliability of an Upper- and Lower-Extremity Visuomotor Reaction Time Task

“…The Dynavision D2 system upper-extremity VMRT task has been established. 3 The Dynavision D2 includes 64 raised targets, 3 while the FitLight system upper-extremity task in this protocol included 8 lights. We concluded the upper-extremity VMRT task using the FitLight system is a reliable assessment.…”

“…For example, Wilkerson et al 2 identified a relationship between upper-extremity VMRT and lower-extremity injury risk with the Dynavision D2 system (Dynavision; Dynavision International LLC, West Chester, OH). The Dynavision D2 system provides a reliable measure of VMRT, 3,4 reliant upon upper-extremity movement strategies; however, this system cannot be configured to assess lower-extremity movement strategies. 4,5 A task that can assess lower-extremity VMRT may provide greater insight into lowerextremity injury risk and potential impairments created by lowerextremity injury.…”

Performance and load testing: Tools and challenges

“…depends on a number of distributed systems that are active in many data centers throughout the world. Efficient capacity allocation, correct setup, and tuning of various system resources are essential for the proper functioning and reliability of both the cache as well as backend servers in distributed systems, ensuring that they can handle incoming workloads [3] . Tests are an integral part of the software development life cycle.…”