Diverse Cognitive Abilities Research Articles

Gamification and Immersive Experiences: A Gamified Approach for Promoting Active Aging

With the global population of individuals aged 60 and above steadily increasing, the need for effective and realistic solutions to promote healthy aging has become imperative. Leveraging the potential of serious games, gamification, and immersive technologies, this study focuses on developing and implementing a practical and tailored gamified platform to foster active aging in older adults. This platform was designed to incorporate game elements such as points, badges, levels, rankings, achievements, and immersive 360-degree images to provide a realistic and captivating user experience. Six distinct games and challenges have been developed through an extensive and iterative design process, each carefully calibrated to accommodate the aging population’s diverse cognitive abilities and interests. By combining the engagement-enhancing features of gamification with the immersive realism of 360-degree images, our platform offers a gamified and immersive solution for older adults. The gamified experiences are enjoyable and directly target cognitive functions, enhancing memory, attention, and problem-solving skills. The platform’s design has been refined through user feedback and usability testing, ensuring its relevance and effectiveness in real-life scenarios. The outcomes of this research shed light on a practical approach to active aging, emphasizing the importance of incorporating gaming experiences to engage and stimulate older adults. This study provides insights for the design and implementation of future interventions aimed at promoting digital literacy and technological proficiency among older populations, ultimately contributing to their active and fulfilling participation in the digital age.

Pelatihan Pembelajaran Numerasi Berdiferensiasi Menggunakan Media Digital bagi Guru Sekolah Dasar Luar Biasa (SDLB)

The challenges faced by teachers, ranging from the diverse cognitive abilities of each student to unique learning styles, cause the numeracy learning process in Special Elementary Schools (SDLB) to become increasingly complex. Meanwhile, several studies and discussion results show that teachers' ability to design differentiated numeracy learning using digital media is still low. Hence, community service was carried out with the aim of developing the abilities of SDLB teachers in designing differentiated numeracy learning using digital media for teachers at SDLB Muhammadiyah in Gresik. Service activities start from preparation, socialization, training, application of technology, to mentoring and evaluation. The training activity was carried out for three days at school, and at the end of the activity, participants were asked to fill out an activity questionnaire. Based on the results of activity questionnaires and interviews with teachers, it can be seen that teachers' knowledge in differentiated numeracy learning is developing well. They design differentiated learning based on the results of the initial assessment given to students. Furthermore, teachers' skills in using digital media have also increased. Therefore, we can conclude that this service activity can enhance teachers' skills in designing differentiated numeracy learning through the use of 3D flipbook digital media.

Reframing developmental dyslexia and bilingualism: An overview to enhance strengths and advantages

This paper explores the evolving perceptions of bilingualism and developmental dyslexia, shifting from viewing them as deficits to acknowledging their inherent strengths. This overview contributes to the evolving narrative surrounding dyslexia and bilingualism, urging a revaluation of these conditions from deficit-centered perspectives to recognize the diverse cognitive abilities and adaptive advantages they offer. It delves into the positive aspects associated with developmental dyslexia, highlighting cognitive strengths like visuospatial skills, narrative reasoning, and dynamic reasoning.Additionally, it examines the multifaceted nature of bilingualism, outlining distinctions between types of bilingualism and emphasizing cognitive benefits such as enhanced cognitive flexibility, attentional skills, and executive functions among bilingual individuals. The complexities of language acquisition, socioeconomic factors, and societal support are discussed in understanding the interplay between language acquisition and cognitive development in bilingual contexts. Furthermore, the paper navigates the intricate connection between dyslexia and bilingualism, emphasizing factors like language exposure, linguistic characteristics, and individual cognitive processes that influence their interaction. Dyslexia significantly impacts language acquisition and proficiency in both native and second languages, requiring tailored assessments and interventions for dyslexic bilingual individuals.

A molecular and cellular perspective on human brain evolution and tempo.

The evolution of the modern human brain was accompanied by distinct molecular and cellular specializations, which underpin our diverse cognitive abilities but also increase our susceptibility to neurological diseases. These features, some specific to humans and others shared with related species, manifest during different stages of brain development. In this multi-stage process, neural stem cells proliferate to produce a large and diverse progenitor pool, giving rise to excitatory or inhibitory neurons that integrate into circuits during further maturation. This process unfolds over varying time scales across speciesand has progressivelybecome slower in the human lineage, with differences in tempo correlating with differences in brain size, cell number and diversity, and connectivity. Here we introduce the terms 'bradychrony' and 'tachycrony' to describe slowed and accelerated developmental tempos, respectively. Wereview how recent technical advances across disciplines, including advanced engineering of in vitro models, functional comparative genetics and high-throughput single-cell profiling, are leading to a deeper understanding of how specializationsofthe human brain arise during bradychronic neurodevelopment. Emerging insightspointto a central role for genetics, gene-regulatory networks, cellular innovations and developmental tempo, which together contribute to the establishment of human specializations during various stages of neurodevelopment and at different points in evolution.

Designing the journey for inclusivity and accessibility in virtual manufacturing environments: An exploration through empathy

With one in four EU adults having disabilities and only half employed full-time, there is a need for enhanced workforce inclusion and accessibility. Despite Industry 4.0’s technological advancements, gaps in adoption persist for individuals with disabilities, hindering potential engagement within manufacturing. Leveraging Virtual Reality (VR)’s immersive qualities, empathic design principles were applied to empathise with individuals living with cognitive impairment in the context of digital manufacturing assembly processes. Exploring empathy’s role in enhancing inclusivity and accessibility, a qualitative study was conducted with manufacturing professionals and individuals with cognitive conditions, bridging the gap between current and future employees with diverse cognitive abilities. The findings, which are visualised through a novel user journey map, showcase VR’s potential as a tool for inclusive design by determining interaction modes that augment workforce diversity in manufacturing.

PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES FOR ENHANCING PRONUNCIATION AND LISTENING ABILITIES IN ENGLISH FOR ELEMENTARY ESL STUDENTS

This comprehensive review, titled "Diversified Intelligences: An In-depth Exploration of Multiple-Intelligence Domains Among Physically Handicapped Individuals Across Demographic Attributes," delves into the intricate relationship between multiple-intelligence domains and demographic characteristics among individuals facing physical handicaps. Drawing on a thorough examination of existing literature, this review aims to elucidate how diverse cognitive abilities manifest in physically handicapped populations across various demographic attributes. The synthesis of findings contributes to a deeper understanding of the nuanced interplay between multiple intelligences and demographic factors, offering insights for tailored support and inclusive strategies.

Introduction to this special issue on intelligent systems for people with diverse cognitive abilities

ABSTRACT This special issue highlights state-of-the-art research in intelligent systems and technology for people with diverse abilities. To control scope, we pay particular attention to cognitive diversity, including but not limited to, neurodevelopmental disorders and autism, cognitive and learningdisabilities, and dementia. We introduce the papers in this special issue by contextualizing them according to different research areas. By curating leading-edge contributions in this area, we aim to raise awareness about research challenges and requirements inherent in the development and assessment of systems designed for these categories of users.

Conversational artificial intelligence and affective social robot for monitoring health and well‐being of people with dementia

AbstractBackgroundSocial robots are anthropomorphised platforms developed to interact with humans, using natural language, offering an accessible and intuitive interface suited to diverse cognitive abilities. Social robots can be used to support people with dementia (PwD) and carers in their homes managing medication, hydration, appointments, and evaluating mood, wellbeing, and potentially cognitive decline. Such robots have potential to reduce care burden and prolong independent living, yet translation into PwD use remains insignificant.MethodWe have developed two social robots ‐ a conversational robot and a digital social robot for mobile devices capable of communicating through natural language (powered by Amazon Alexa) and facial expressions that ask PwD daily questions about their health and wellbeing and also provide digital assistant functionality. We record data comprising of PwD’s responses to daily questions, audio speech and text of conversations with Alexa to automatically monitor their health and wellbeing using machine learning. We followed user‐centric development processes by conducting focus groups with 13 carers, 2 PwD and 5 clinicians to iterate the design. We are testing social robot with 3 PwD in their homes for ten weeks.ResultWe received positive feedback on social robot from focus group participants. Ease of use, low maintenance, accessibility, assistance with medication, supporting with health and wellbeing were identified as the key opportunities for social robots. Based on responses to a daily questionnaire, our robots generate a report detailing PwD wellbeing that is automatically sent via email to family members or carers. This information is also stored systematically in a database that can help clinicians monitor their patients remotely. We use natural language processing to analyse conversations and identify topics of interest to PwD such that robot behaviour could be adapted. We process speech using signal processing and machine learning classifiers to identify emotions and mood.ConclusionAffective social robots with voice and facial expressions have a great potential for enhancing dementia care at home. Combining responses to daily questions, topics of conversations and emotions from speech analysis can help assess daily status of PwD automatically and monitor their health and well‐being over time remotely.

Cognition, Emotion and Behaviour: Addressing the Relationship Between Executive Functions and Decision-Making

Executive functions are a complex and heterogeneous group of concepts that refer to a set of diverse cognitive abilities such as working memory, cognitive flexibility, planification, reasoning, problem-solving and inhibition. Moreover, decision-making may be described as a pattern that a person uses when he or she is facing a situation where they must lean towards an option: people tend to choose one or another option considering the risks and benefits these options offer. There is evidence supporting that executive functions are associated with the way people make their decisions. The main aim of the present study is to review and update these concepts reporting evidence from the literature on the association between the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects of decision making.

The Savage Organizational Scoring System for the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test: Norms and New Data From Veterans in a Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic.

The Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (RCFT) permits quantifying diverse cognitive abilities, including executive function (EF). We evaluated the psychometric properties of a scoring procedure for the RCFT, the Savage Organizational Scoring System (SOSS), that awards points for drawing the largest structural elements of the figures as continuous wholes. This was a two-phase study: first, we conducted a systematic literature search for studies using the SOSS, and aggregated previously published data for healthy controls to create a normative database; second, we observed performances from veterans evaluated for traumatic brain injury (TBI), examining the reliability of their SOSS scores, the SOSS correlations with two EF measures and the participants' self-reported cognitive functioning, and then compared their mean scores to normative expectations. Across our literature-derived normative database, the aggregated mean SOSS score was 4.12 (SD = 1.72), which was marginally higher than that of our veteran participants evaluated for TBI, 3.72 (SD = 1.79). The SOSS had modest internal consistency (α = .59). Unlike the criterion EF measures, the SOSS was not significantly related to self-reported cognitive functioning. The SOSS shared a small, significant correlation with Trails B and Shipley Abstraction; but RCFT Copy scores were more strongly related to these tests, and the SOSS added no significant incremental predictive value beyond the RCFT Copy score. However, SOSS scores did predict RCFT Recall beyond RCFT Copy scores. We conclude that the SOSS has modest reliability and is predictive of RCFT Recall scores, but it is not strongly correlated with other EF measures, and it is only minimally affected by mild TBI.

Pain Management and Cognitive Function Among Older Adults in China

Chronic pain and cognitive decline are common age-related conditions affecting a large segment of older populations. Little is known about the pathway of cognitive functioning during the course of pain management in older adults. The current study aimed to examine the association between chronic body pain management and cognitive function over time among Chinese older adults. A total of 792 respondents aged 60 and above from urban and rural households in 28 provinces, 150 counties/districts, and 450 communities were selected from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (2013–2015). Cognitive function was measured in three domains: episodic memory, mental status, and global cognitive function. Difference-indifferences approach and mixed-effects linear regression models were employed to assess the association between chronic body pain management and cognitive function over time. Scores of mental status were found to decline slower by 0.49 unit (SE = 0.22, p < 0.05) in respondents who received pain management using analgesics, complementary and alternative medicine, or both from 2013 to 2015 after controlling for basic demographic and health confounders. Chronic pain management was associated with slower decline in domain-specific cognitive function, mental status over time. Findings of the study may contribute to understanding the mechanism of change in diverse cognitive abilities attributable to pain symptoms. More research is needed to elucidate the mediating effect of pain on cognitive decline, which could lead to testing of the impact of pain management on cognitive function among older population in both clinical and community settings.

Adaptive spatial working memory assessments for aging pet dogs.

Assessments for spatial working memory (SWM) in pet dogs that can detect age-related cognitive deficits in a single session may aid in diagnosing canine dementia and may facilitate translational research on Alzheimer's disease in humans. Adaptive testing procedures are widely used in single-session assessments for humans with diverse cognitive abilities. In this study, we designed and deployed two up-down staircase assessments for SWM in which 26 pet dogs were required to recall the location of a treat hidden behind one of two identical boxes following delays of variable length. In the first experiment, performance tended to decline with age but few dogs completed the test (n = 10). However, all of the dogs that participated in the second experiment (n = 24) completed the assessment and provided reliable evidence of learning and retaining the task. Delay length and age significantly predicted performance supporting the validity of this assessment. The relationships between age and performance were described by inverted U-shaped functions as both old and young dogs displayed deficits in weighted cumulative-scores and trial-by-trial performance. Thus, SWM in pet dogs may develop until midlife and decline thereafter. Exploratory analyses of non-mnemonic fixation strategies, sustained engagement, inhibitory control, and potential improvements for future SWM assessments which adopt this paradigm are also discussed.

Evaluation of the Montessori-Inspired Lifestyle® as the Foundation of Care in Assisted Living Memory Care.

The Montessori-Inspired Lifestyle® (MIL) was implemented as the foundation of care in several assisted living memory care (ALMC) neighborhoods to enhance meaningful social roles, engagement, and focus on residents' remaining capabilities. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to evaluate the outcomes regarding resident levels of engagement and prescribed antipsychotic medications before and after MIL implementation. A total of 85 residents were observed for 10-minute periods seven times during 1 day to ascertain the level of engagement during meals and planned and unplanned activities. Positive engagement minutes increased after MIL implementation for activities and meals. Outcomes of this project support the MIL as a foundation of care for ALMC residents and have raised the awareness for addressing diverse cognitive abilities. The need for reoccurring training for the sustainability of this model of care was recognized. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 46(5), 40-46.].

Pain management and cognitive function among older adults: an exploratory study of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study.

Chronic pain and cognitive decline are common age-related conditions affecting a large segment of older populations. Little is known about the pathway of cognitive functioning during the course of pain management in older adults. The study aimed to examine the association between chronic body pain management and cognitive function over time among Chinese older adults. A total of 792 respondents aged 60 and above from urban and rural households in 28 provinces, 150 counties/districts, and 450 communities were selected from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (2013-2015). Cognitive function was measured in three domains: episodic memory, mental status, and global cognitive function. Difference-in-differences approach and mixed-effects linear regression models were employed to assess the association between chronic body pain management and cognitive function over time. Scores of mental status were found to decline slower by 0.49 unit (SE = 0.22, p < 0.05) in respondents who received pain management using analgesics, complementary and alternative medicine, or both from 2013 to 2015 after controlling for basic demographic and health confounders. Chronic pain management was associated with slower decline in domain-specific cognitive function, mental status over time. Findings of the study may contribute to understanding the mechanism of change in diverse cognitive abilities attributable to pain symptoms. More research is needed to elucidate the mediating effect of pain on cognitive decline, which could lead to testing of the impact of pain management on cognitive function among older population in both clinical and community settings.

Does updating natural hazard maps to reflect best practices increase viewer comprehension of risk?

In this study, we examine whether updating an interactive hazard map using recommendations from the literature improves user map comprehension. Analyses of experimental data collected from 75 university students revealed that map comprehension scores were not significantly better for those who viewed a “best practices” map compared to those who viewed an existing version. This may be because the existing map was itself better than most other interactive maps. Additionally, we found map comprehension levels to have significant positive relationships with objective tests, but not self-reported measures of spatial ability. Moreover, self-reported spatial ability had statistically significant, but only moderately strong, correlations with objective tests. These results indicate that spatial ability should be measured objectively rather than through self-reported methods in research on map comprehension. Further research is needed to examine the cognitive processes involved in hazard map comprehension, especially using a broader range of map characteristics and population segments with more diverse cognitive abilities.

Promoting Student Success in Statistics Courses by Tapping Diverse Cognitive Abilities

Skill in statistical analysis and interpretation are key areas of expertise for psychology majors seeking graduate school admittance and future employment. However, students can be reluctant to engage in their statistics course and may struggle to find success. One possible way to increase engagement and student learning is to teach in a way that taps multiple areas of cognitive ability through organizing instruction according to Robert Sternberg’s theory of triarchic intelligence. This approach to instruction has been shown to be successful in the author’s courses and resulted in a pattern of achievement on the psychology subtest of the Area Concentration Achievement Test (ACAT) that is above what would be predicted by the students’ general aptitude scores.

The importance of cognitive diversity for sustaining the commons

Cognitive abilities underpin the capacity of individuals to build models of their environment and make decisions about how to govern resources. Here, we test the functional intelligences proposition that functionally diverse cognitive abilities within a group are critical to govern common pool resources. We assess the effect of two cognitive abilities, social and general intelligence, on group performance on a resource harvesting and management game involving either a negative or a positive disturbance to the resource base. Our results indicate that under improving conditions (positive disturbance) groups with higher general intelligence perform better. However, when conditions deteriorate (negative disturbance) groups with high competency in both general and social intelligence are less likely to deplete resources and harvest more. Thus, we propose that a functional diversity of cognitive abilities improves how effectively social groups govern common pool resources, especially when conditions deteriorate and groups need to re-evaluate and change their behaviors.

Primate cognition test battery in parrots

Abstract Systematic, broad phylogenetic comparisons of diverse cognitive abilities are essential to understand cognitive evolution. Few studies have examined multiple skills comparatively, using identical tasks across species. Previous research centered on primates, but recent evidence suggests that complex cognition may have evolved in distantly related taxa. We administered the tasks of the primate cognition test battery (PCTB) to 4 parrot species for a first direct comparison with primates. The parrots did not perform significantly worse than the previously tested primates in all but one of the test scales, but remained at chance levels throughout. Chimpanzees outperformed them in the physical but not the social domain. No differences between the domains nor across the parrot species were detected. It remains questionable whether the chance level performance reflects the parrots’ cognitive capacity or results from task constraints, which would limit the suitability of PCTB for phylogenetic comparisons. Possible implications for the field are discussed.

Primate cognition test battery in parrots

AbstractSystematic, broad phylogenetic comparisons of diverse cognitive abilities are essential to understand cognitive evolution. Few studies have examined multiple skills comparatively, using identical tasks across species. Previous research centered on primates, but recent evidence suggests that complex cognition may have evolved in distantly related taxa. We administered the tasks of the primate cognition test battery (PCTB) to 4 parrot species for a first direct comparison with primates. The parrots did not perform significantly worse than the previously tested primates in all but one of the test scales, but remained at chance levels throughout. Chimpanzees outperformed them in the physical but not the social domain. No differences between the domains nor across the parrot species were detected. It remains questionable whether the chance level performance reflects the parrots’ cognitive capacity or results from task constraints, which would limit the suitability of PCTB for phylogenetic comparisons. Possible implications for the field are discussed.

Cognitive genomics: Searching for the genetic roots of neuropsychological functioning.

Human cognition has long been known to be under substantial genetic control. With the complete mapping of the human genome, genome-wide association studies for many complex traits have proliferated; however, the highly polygenic nature of intelligence has made the identification of the precise genes that influence both global and specific cognitive abilities more difficult than anticipated. Here, we review the latest developments in the genomics of cognition, including a discussion of methodological advances in the genetic analysis of complex traits, and shared genetic contributions to cognitive abilities and neuropsychiatric disorders. A wealth of twin and family studies have provided compelling evidence for a strong heritable component of both global and specific cognitive abilities, and for the existence of "generalist genes" responsible for a large portion of the variance in diverse cognitive abilities. Increasingly sophisticated analytic tools and ever-larger sample sizes are now facilitating the identification of specific genetic and molecular underpinnings of cognitive abilities, leading to optimism regarding possibilities for novel treatments for illnesses related to cognitive function. We conclude with a set of future directions for the field, which will further accelerate discoveries regarding the biological pathways relevant to cognitive abilities. These, in turn, may be further interrogated in order to link biological mechanisms to behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record