Sensitive performance-based assessment of everyday action in older and younger adults. Issue 2 (4th March 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Rycroft, Sarah Seligman; Giovannetti, Tania; Divers, Ross; Hulswit, Jacob
• Is Part Of: Aging, neuropsychology, and cognition. Volume 25:Issue 2(2018)
• Page Start: 259
• Page End: 276
• Publication Date: 2018-03-04
• Subjects: Everyday function -- instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) -- cognition -- aging -- mild cognitive impairment; Aging -- Periodicals; Cognition in old age -- Periodicals; Cognition disorders in old age -- Periodicals; Neuropsychology -- Periodicals; Aging -- periodicals; Neuropsychology -- periodicals; Cognition -- periodicals; Mental Disorders -- periodicals; Gerontology -- periodicals; Mental Health -- periodicals; 155.67
• DOI: 10.1080/13825585.2017.1287855
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1382-5585

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Everyday function is compromised by mild cognitive changes in aging. These changes predict risk for future decline and dementia but remain poorly characterized, largely due to a scarcity of sensitive, objective measures.Twenty-seven younger adults and 25 non-demented older adults completed the Naturalistic Action Test (NAT), a performance-based measure of everyday action involving simple and complex tasks. Performance was coded for overt errors and subtle inefficiencies. Participants also completed self-report functional measures and cognitive tests. Mixed ANOVAs revealed that older adults made more subtle NAT errors with high task demands; groups did not differ in overt errors. Correlations did not reveal significant relations between self-report and NAT errors, but NAT performance was correlated with learning and recall.The NAT provides a promising tool for detecting subtle age-related changes and examining decline across levels of impairment. Self-report may lack sensitivity to subtle changes, and episodic memory changes underlie early functional disruption.