Open AccessIntra-Individual Variability in Cognitive Performance Can Befuddle the Study of Cognitive Impairments and Decline
Author(s) -
Szymon Zdanowski,
Alieke Tieks,
Bertus F. Jeronimus,
Marij Zuidersma
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
journal of alzheimer's disease
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.677
H-Index - 139
eISSN - 1875-8908
pISSN - 1387-2877
DOI - 10.3233/jad-210304
Subject(s) - cognition , snapshot (computer storage) , effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance , psychology , cognitive decline , cognitive test , cognitive skill , cognitive psychology , clinical psychology , medicine , computer science , dementia , psychiatry , disease , pathology , operating system
Using group-aggregated results and snapshot assessments of cognitive performance may prove problematic if the assessed construct shows substantial and rapid variation over time. To illustrate the significance of this issue, we analyzed cognitive performance data of ten older adults undergoing daily computerized cognitive assessments (CogState Brief Battery) for 36–93 days. In all cases, the day-to-day intra-individual variability was substantial when compared with group-level, between-person variability. This indicates that the results of studies using single snapshot assessments of cognitive functioning should be interpreted with caution. Additionally, group-aggregated measures of cognitive performance may not directly extrapolate to an individual.