Random Item Generation Is Affected by Age.
Random item generation (RIG) involves central executive functioning. Measuring aspects of random sequences can therefore provide a simple method to complement other tools for cognitive assessment. We examine the extent to which RIG relates to specific measures of cognitive function, and whether those measures can be estimated using RIG only.



Twelve healthy older adults (age: M = 70.3 years, SD = 4.9; 8 women and 4 men) and 20 healthy young adults (age: M = 24 years, SD = 4.0; 12 women and 8 men) participated in this pilot study. Each completed a RIG task, along with the color Stroop test, the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status, and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Fourth Edition (Dunn & Dunn, 2007). Several statistical features extracted from RIG sequences, including recurrence quantification, were found to be related to the other measures through correlation, regression, and a neural-network model.



The authors found significant effects of age in RIG and demonstrate that nonlinear machine learning can use measures of RIG to accurately predict outcomes from other tools.



These results suggest that RIG can be used as a relatively simple predictor for other tools and in particular seems promising as a potential screening tool for selective attention in healthy aging.
Oral Dynamics Lab, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Namita
N
Multani
University of Toronto, Ontario, CanadaRehabilitation Sciences Institute, University of Toronto, Ontario, CanadaToronto Rehabilitation Institute-University Health Network, Ontario, Canada.
Frank
F
Rudzicz
Oral Dynamics Lab, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Wing Yiu Stephanie
WY
Wong
Oral Dynamics Lab, University of Toronto, Ontario, CanadaToronto Rehabilitation Institute-University Health Network, Ontario, Canada.
Aravind Kumar
AK
Namasivayam
Oral Dynamics Lab, University of Toronto, Ontario, CanadaUniversity of Toronto, Ontario, CanadaRehabilitation Sciences Institute, University of Toronto, Ontario, CanadaToronto Rehabilitation Institute-University Health Network, Ontario, CanadaInstitute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Pascal
P
van Lieshout
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D001288:Attention; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D000069550:Machine Learning; D008297:Male; D016571:Neural Networks, Computer; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012044:Regression Analysis; D055815:Young Adult