Remote assessment of the Penn computerised neurocognitive battery in individuals with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome.

Abstract

Neurocognitive functioning is an integral phenotype of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome relating to severity of psychopathology and outcomes. A neurocognitive battery that could be administered remotely to assess multiple cognitive domains would be especially beneficial to research on rare genetic variants, where in-person assessment can be unavailable or burdensome. The current study compares in-person and remote assessments of the Penn computerised neurocognitive battery (CNB). Participants (mean age=17.82, SD=6.94years; 48% female) completed the CNB either in-person at a laboratory (n=222) or remotely (n=162). Results show that accuracy of CNB performance was equivalent across the two testing locations, while slight differences in speed were detected in 3 of the 11 tasks. These findings suggest that the CNB can be used in remote settings to assess multiple neurocognitive domains.