title: An eye-tracking controlled neuropsychological battery for cognitive assessment in neurological diseases.
abstract: Traditional cognitive assessment in neurological conditions involving physical disability is often prevented by the presence of verbal-motor impairment; to date, an extensive motor-verbal-free neuropsychological battery is not available for such purposes. We adapted a set of neuropsychological tests, assessing language, attentional abilities, executive functions and social cognition, for eye-tracking (ET) control, and explored its feasibility in a sample of healthy participants. Thirty healthy subjects performed a neuropsychological assessment, using an ET-based neuropsychological battery, together with standard "paper and pencil" cognitive measures for frontal (Frontal Assessment Battery-FAB) and working memory abilities (Digit Sequencing Task) and for global cognitive efficiency (Montreal Cognitive Assessment-MoCA). Psychological measures of anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Y-STAI-Y) and depression (Beck Depression Inventory-BDI) were also collected, and a usability questionnaire was administered. Significant correlations were observed between the "paper and pencil" screening of working memory abilities and the ET-based neuropsychological measures. The ET-based battery also correlated with the MoCA, while poor correlations were observed with the FAB. Usability aspects were found to be influenced by both working memory abilities and psychological components. The ET-based neuropsychological battery developed could provide an extensive assessment of cognitive functions, allowing participants to perform tasks independently from the integrity of motor or verbal channels. Further studies will be aimed at investigating validity and usability components in neurological populations with motor-verbal impairments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Laboratory of Neuroscience, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy. b.poletti@auxologico.it.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4398-2051
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Poletti
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Laboratory of Neuroscience, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Carelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Laboratory of Neuroscience, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Solca
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Laboratory of Neuroscience, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Annalisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lafronza
authors.affiliation: Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology Lab, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pedroli
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular, Neural and Metabolic Sciences, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Faini
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, IRCCS Fondazione Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zago
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Laboratory of Neuroscience, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy.|Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, "Dino Ferrari" Center, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ticozzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Laboratory of Neuroscience, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ciammola
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Laboratory of Neuroscience, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Morelli
authors.affiliation: ICT and Biomedical Technology Integration Unit, Centre for Innovation and Technology Transfer (CITT), Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi Onlus, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Meriggi
authors.affiliation: Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology Lab, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cipresso
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Dorothée
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lulé
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Albert C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Ludolph
authors.affiliation: Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology Lab, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy.|Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Riva
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Laboratory of Neuroscience, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy.|Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, "Dino Ferrari" Center, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Silani
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D003071:Cognition; D056344:Executive Function; D053483:Eye Movement Measurements; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D007807:Language Tests; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D008875:Middle Aged; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012919:Social Behavior; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Eye-tracking; Motor–verbal limitations; Neurological diseases; Neuropsychological battery