Impact of rapport on neuropsychological test performance

Inhibiting responses under the watch of a recently synchronized peer increases self-monitoring: evidence from functional near-infrared spectroscopy

Developing motor synchrony with a peer (through interventions such as the mirror game) can yield collaborative, cognitive and social benefits. However, it is also well established that observation by an audience can improve cognition. The combined and relative advantages offered by motor synchronization and audience effects are not yet understood. It is important to address this gap to determine the extent to which synchronizing activities might interact with the positive effects of an audience. In this preregistered study, we investigate the extent to which response inhibition may be improved when observed by a peer after motor synchronization with this peer. We compare behavioural and cortical (functional near-infrared spectroscopy; fNIRS) measures of inhibition between synchronized and non-synchronized dyads and find that the presence of a synchronized peer-audience introduces a speed-accuracy trade-off, consisting of slower reaction times and improved accuracy. This co-occurs with cortical activation in bilateral inferior frontal and middle prefrontal cortices, which are implicated in monitoring and maintenance of social alignment. Our findings have implications for carers and support people, who may benefit from synchronizing activities for rehabilitating inhibition and social skills in clinical settings.

Tele-neuropsychological Assessment of Children and Young People: A Systematic Review

The coronavirus pandemic identified a clinical need for pediatric tele-neuropsychology (TeleNP) assessment. However, due to limited research, clinicians have had little information to develop, adapt, or select reliable pediatric assessments for TeleNP. This preliminary systematic review aimed to examine the feasibility of pediatric TeleNP assessment alongside (1) patient/family acceptability, (2) reliability, and (3) the quality of the literature. Between May 2021 and November 2022, manual searches of PubMed, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar were conducted using terms related to "pediatric" and "tele-neuropsychology." After extracting relevant papers with samples aged 0-22 years, predefined exclusion criteria were applied. Quality assessment was completed using the AXIS appraisal tool (91% rater-agreement). Twenty-one studies were included in the review, with reported qualitative and quantitative data on the feasibility, reliability, and acceptability extracted. Across included studies, TeleNP was completed via telephone/video conference with participants either at home, in a local setting accompanied by an assistant, or in a different room but in the same building as the assessor. Pediatric TeleNP was generally reported to be feasible (e.g., minimal behavioral differences) and acceptable (e.g., positive feedback). Nineteen studies conducted some statistical analyses to assess reliability. Most observed no significant difference between in-person and TeleNP for most cognitive domains (i.e., IQ), with a minority finding variable reliability for some tests (e.g., attention, speech, visuo-spatial). Limited reporting of sex-assigned birth, racialized identity, and ethnicity reduced the quality and generalizability of the literature. To aid clinical interpretations, studies should assess underexamined cognitive domains (e.g., processing speed) with larger, more inclusive samples.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40817-023-00144-6.

Reliability of the NIH toolbox cognitive battery in children and adolescents: a 3-year longitudinal examination

BACKGROUND

The Cognitive Battery of the National Institutes of Health Toolbox (NIH-TB) is a collection of assessments that have been adapted and normed for administration across the lifespan and is increasingly used in large-scale population-level research. However, despite increasing adoption in longitudinal investigations of neurocognitive development, and growing recommendations that the Toolbox be used in clinical applications, little is known about the long-term temporal stability of the NIH-TB, particularly in youth.

METHODS

The present study examined the long-term temporal reliability of the NIH-TB in a large cohort of youth (9-15 years-old) recruited across two data collection sites. Participants were invited to complete testing annually for 3 years.

RESULTS

Reliability was generally low-to-moderate, with intraclass correlation coefficients ranging between 0.31 and 0.76 for the full sample. There were multiple significant differences between sites, with one site generally exhibiting stronger temporal stability than the other.

CONCLUSIONS

Reliability of the NIH-TB Cognitive Battery was lower than expected given early work examining shorter test-retest intervals. Moreover, there were very few instances of tests meeting stability requirements for use in research; none of the tests exhibited adequate reliability for use in clinical applications. Reliability is paramount to establishing the validity of the tool, thus the constructs assessed by the NIH-TB may vary over time in youth. We recommend further refinement of the NIH-TB Cognitive Battery and its norming procedures for children before further adoption as a neuropsychological assessment. We also urge researchers who have already employed the NIH-TB in their studies to interpret their results with caution.

Off-topic verbosity: Relationships between verbal abilities and speech characteristics among young and older adults

Off-topic verbosity (OTV) refers to extended speech lacking in relevance and focus. Previous research has found that older adults have higher levels of OTV, and some contend that OTV is indicative of cognitive decline. The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between verbal cognitive abilities and OTV speech characteristics among young adults (n = 62; age 18-28, M = 20.69) and older adults (n = 76; age 60-98, M = 76.46). Older adults had slower verbal speed and verbal set-shifting than young adults, and they displayed more tangentiality and egocentrism in their speech. Slower set-shifting was associated with increased tangentiality and decreased quantity of speech, particularly in older adults. These results provide some support for the age-related cognitive decline explanation of OTV, as posited by the inhibitory deficit hypothesis.

An experimental investigation of the impact of rapport on Stroop test performance

Rapport in the context of neuropsychological testing refers to the level of interpersonal ease between examiner and examinee. However, scant research has examined the impact of rapport on neuropsychological test performance. The purpose of this between-subjects experiment was to investigate the impact of rapport on Stroop test performance. College students (N = 114) were randomly assigned to either a high or a low rapport condition and administered the D-KEFS Color-Word Interference Test. Individuals in the low rapport condition took longer to complete the Inhibition Trial of the Stroop test but did not vary on the Inhibition/Switching Trial. Low rapport may distract examinees, sapping attentional resources on the Inhibition Trial.

Measuring rapport in neuropsychological assessment: the Barnett Rapport Questionnaire

Rapport is an important component of neuropsychological test administration; however, there is a lack of psychometrically sound measures of rapport in the context of neuropsychological assessment. The purpose of this study was to explore adapting measures of the psychotherapeutic alliance specifically to neuropsychological test administration and investigate their feasibility and construct validity. College students (N = 126) were administered a brief battery of neuropsychological tests in either a high-rapport or low-rapport condition. Participants in the high-rapport condition rated rapport as being higher, suggesting that the items captured the nature of the interpersonal interaction between examiner and examinee. The results suggest the feasibility of adapting items from measures of the psychotherapeutic alliance for measuring rapport in neuropsychological testing. This article introduces the Barnett Rapport Questionnaire, a measure of rapport in the context of neuropsychological assessment.