The limitations and challenges in the assessment of executive dysfunction associated with real-world functioning: The opportunity of serious games

Nowadays, there is a broad range of methods for detecting and evaluating executive dysfunction ranging from clinical interview to neuropsychological evaluation. Nevertheless, a critical issue of these assessments is the lack of correspondence of the neuropsychological test's results with real-world functioning. This paper proposes serious games as a new framework to improve the neuropsychological assessment of real-world functioning. We briefly discuss the contribution and limitations of current methods of evaluation of executive dysfunction (paper-and-pencil tests, naturalistic observation methods, and Information and Communications Technologies) to inform on daily life functioning. Then, we analyze what are the limitations of these methods to predict real-world performance: (1) A lack of appropriate instruments to investigate the complexity of real-world functioning, (2) the vast majority of neuropsychological tests assess well-structured tasks, and (3) measurement of behaviors are based on simplistic data collection and statistical analysis. This work shows how serious games offer an opportunity to develop more efficient tools to detect executive dysfunction in everyday life contexts. Serious games provide meaningful narrative stories and virtual or real environments that immerse the user in natural and social environments with social interactions. In those highly interactive game environments, the player needs to adapt his/her behavioral performance to novel and ill-structured tasks which are suited for collecting user interaction evidence. Serious games offer a novel opportunity to develop better tools to improve diagnosis of the executive dysfunction in everyday life contexts. However, more research is still needed to implement serious games in everyday clinical practice

The limitations and challenges in the assessment of executive dysfunction associated with real-world functioning: The opportunity of serious games

Nowadays, there is a broad range of methods for detecting and evaluating executive dysfunction ranging from clinical interview to neuropsychological evaluation. Nevertheless, a critical issue of these assessments is the lack of correspondence of the neuropsychological test’s results with real-world functioning. This paper proposes serious games as a new framework to improve the neuropsychological assessment of real-world functioning. We briefly discuss the contribution and limitations of current methods of evaluation of executive dysfunction (paper-and-pencil tests, naturalistic observation methods, and Information and Communications Technologies) to inform on daily life functioning. Then, we analyze what are the limitations of these methods to predict real-world performance: (1) A lack of appropriate instruments to investigate the complexity of real-world functioning, (2) the vast majority of neuropsychological tests assess well-structured tasks, and (3) measurement of behaviors are based on simplistic data collection and statistical analysis. This work shows how serious games offer an opportunity to develop more efficient tools to detect executive dysfunction in everyday life contexts. Serious games provide meaningful narrative stories and virtual or real environments that immerse the user in natural and social environments with social interactions. In those highly interactive game environments, the player needs to adapt his/her behavioral performance to novel and ill-structured tasks which are suited for collecting user interaction evidence. Serious games offer a novel opportunity to develop better tools to improve diagnosis of the executive dysfunction in everyday life contexts. However, more research is still needed to implement serious games in everyday clinical practice.Fil: Martínez Pernía, David. Universidad Adolfo Ibañez; ChileFil: Olavarría, Loreto. Universidad de Chile; ChileFil: Fernández Manjón, Baltasar. Universidad Complutense de Madrid; EspañaFil: Cabello, Victoria. Universidad de Chile; ChileFil: Henríquez, Fernando. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chile. Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Robert, Philippe. No especifíca;Fil: Alvarado, Luís. Universidad de Chile; ChileFil: Barría, Silvia. Universidad de Chile; ChileFil: Antivilo, Andrés. Universidad de Chile; ChileFil: Velasquez, Juan. Universidad de Chile; ChileFil: Cerda, Mauricio. Universidad de Chile; ChileFil: Farías, Gonzalo. Universidad de Chile; ChileFil: Torralva, Teresa. Universidad Favaloro; ArgentinaFil: Ibañez, Agustin Mariano. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de San Andrés; Argentina. Universidad Adolfo Ibañez; Chile. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Parra, Mario A.. University of Strathclyde; Reino UnidoFil: Gilbert, Sam. No especifíca;Fil: Slachevsky, Andrea. Universidad del Desarrollo; Chil

Carbohydrate quality changes and concurrent changes in cardiovascular risk factors: a longitudinal analysis in the PREDIMED-Plus randomized trial

[Background]: Overall quality of dietary carbohydrate intake rather than total carbohydrate intake may determine the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).[Objective]: We examined 6- and 12-mo changes in carbohydrate quality index (CQI) and concurrent changes in several CVD risk factors in a multicenter, randomized, primary-prevention trial (PREDIMED-Plus) based on an intensive weight-loss lifestyle intervention program.[Methods]: Prospective analysis of 5373 overweight/obese Spanish adults (aged 55–75 y) with metabolic syndrome (MetS). Dietary intake information obtained from a validated 143-item semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire was used to calculate 6- and 12-mo changes in CQI (categorized in quintiles), based on 4 criteria (total dietary fiber intake, glycemic index, whole grain/total grain ratio, and solid carbohydrate/total carbohydrate ratio). The outcomes were changes in intermediate markers of CVD.[Results]: During the 12-mo follow-up, the majority of participants improved their CQI by increasing their consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes, fish, and nuts and decreasing their consumption of refined cereals, added sugars, and sugar-sweetened beverages. After 6 mo, body weight, waist circumference (WC), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP), fasting blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), triglyceride levels, triglycerides and glucose (TyG) index, and TyG-WC decreased across successive quintiles of improvement in the CQI. After 12 mo, improvements were additionally observed for HDL cholesterol and for the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol. Favorable improvements (expressed in common units of SD and 95% CI) for quintile 5 compared with quintile 1 of CQI change were observed for most risk factors, including TyG-WC (SD −0.20; 95% CI −0.26, −0.15), HbA1c (SD −0.16; 95% CI −0.23, −0.10), weight (SD −0.12; 95% CI −0.14, −0.09), systolic BP (SD −0.11; 95% CI −0.19, −0.02) and diastolic BP (SD −0.11; 95% CI −0.19, −0.04).[Conclusions]: Improvements in CQI were strongly associated with concurrent favorable CVD risk factor changes maintained over time in overweight/obese adults with MetS. This trial was registered as ISRCTN 89898870.The PREDIMED-Plus trial was supported by the European Research Council (advanced research grant 2013–2018, 340918 to MAM-G as PI) and by the official Spanish Institutions for funding scientific biomedical research, CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn) and Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), through the Fondo de Investigación en Salud (FIS), which is cofunded by the European Regional Development Fund (4 coordinated FIS projects), the Especial Action Project entitled Implementación y evaluación de una intervención intensiva sobre la actividad física Cohorte PREDIMED-Plus grant, the Recercaixa grant (2013ACUP00194), grants from the Consejería de Salud de la Junta de Andalucía, a grant from the Generalitat Valenciana, a SEMERGEN grant, and funds from the European Regional Development Fund (CB06/03),Peer reviewe