Sánchez-Vincitore Laura V, Cubilla-Bonnetier Daniel, Marte-Santana Hugo, Duñabeitia Jon Andoni
Laboratorio de Neurocognición y Psicofisiología, Universidad Iberoamericana (Unibe), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Centro de Investigación Nebrija en Cognición, Universidad Nebrija, Madrid, Spain.
Front Aging Neurosci. 2023 Oct 5;15:1212496. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2023.1212496. eCollection 2023.
Cognitive decline usually begins after individuals reach maturity, which is more evident in late adulthood. Rapid and constant cognitive screenings allow early detection of cognitive decline and motivate individuals to participate in prevention interventions. Due to accelerated technological advances, cognitive screening and training are now available to the layperson using electronic devices connected to the internet. Large datasets generated by these platforms provide a unique opportunity to explore cognitive development throughout life and across multiple naturalistic environments. However, such data collection mechanisms must be validated. This study aimed to determine whether the data gathered by commercial visuospatial and phonological working memory tests (CogniFit Inc., San Francisco, USA) confirm the well-established argument that age predicts cognitive decline. Data from 3,212 participants (2,238 females) who were 45 years old or older were analyzed. A linear regression analysis explored the relationship between age and working memory while controlling for gender, sleep quality, and physical activity (variables that are known to affect working memory). We found that age negatively predicts working memory. Furthermore, there was an interaction between age and gender for visuospatial working memory, indicating that although male participants significantly outperformed females, the relationship between age and working memory differs for females and males. Our results suggest that the computerized assessment of visuospatial and phonological working memory is sensible enough to predict cognitive functions in aging. Suggestions for improving the sensitivity of self-reports are discussed. Further studies must explore the nature of gender effects on cognitive aging.
认知能力下降通常在个体成年后开始，在成年晚期更为明显。快速且持续的认知筛查能够早期发现认知能力下降，并促使个体参与预防干预措施。由于技术进步加速，现在普通大众可以使用连接互联网的电子设备进行认知筛查和训练。这些平台生成的大量数据集提供了一个独特的机会，来探索一生中以及多个自然环境中的认知发展。然而，这种数据收集机制必须经过验证。本研究旨在确定美国旧金山CogniFit公司的商业视觉空间和语音工作记忆测试所收集的数据，是否证实了年龄可预测认知能力下降这一已被充分证实的观点。对3212名45岁及以上参与者（2238名女性）的数据进行了分析。线性回归分析在控制性别、睡眠质量和身体活动（已知会影响工作记忆的变量）的同时，探索了年龄与工作记忆之间的关系。我们发现年龄对工作记忆有负向预测作用。此外，视觉空间工作记忆在年龄和性别之间存在交互作用，这表明尽管男性参与者的表现明显优于女性，但年龄与工作记忆之间的关系在女性和男性中有所不同。我们的结果表明，视觉空间和语音工作记忆的计算机化评估足以预测衰老过程中的认知功能。文中讨论了提高自我报告敏感性的建议。进一步的研究必须探索性别对认知衰老影响的本质。
