ALTERATION OF CORTICAL NEURONAL ACTIVITY DURING THE ACUTE STAGE OF TRANSIENT GLOBAL AMNESIA

Abstract

of cognition. Methods: Phone monitors were installed in the homes of 26 independent elderly individuals from the ORCATECH Life Laboratory cohort (age 86 6 4.5, 88% female) and used to monitor the total daily number of incoming phone calls for an average of 174 days. General cognitive status was assessed using a composite score composed of five Z-normalized cognitive domain tests. Because the daily number of incoming calls is a count variable, we used a mixed effects Poisson regression to model the effect of cognition on phone use controlling for age, sex, education, loneliness and pain. Results: Individuals with higher cognitive function receive significantly more phone calls (b 1⁄40.41, p<0.01; 95% CI 0.141, 0.671) (Figure 1). People received fewer calls on the weekend than the weekday (b 1⁄4-0.44, p<0.001; 95% CI -0.50, -0.39), and women received more calls than men (b 1⁄40.60, p<0.001; 95% CI 0.47, 0.74). Individuals reporting higher levels of pain also received more phone calls (b 1⁄40.047, p<0.05; 95% CI 0.0075, 0.086) while lonelier individuals received fewer calls, although this result was not significant (b 1⁄4-0.0061, p1⁄40.155; 95% CI -0.0144, 0.0023). Conclusions: Among independent elders, higher cognitive function positively influences phone activity as assessed by the number of phone calls received. Telephone activity may be used to assess subtle cognitive change in a continuous, unobtrusive manner. Incorporating such measures into in-home sensor platforms could enable earlier detection and treatment of cognitive decline. Future studies will explore these and related metrics across a wider range o f cognitive function.