Source: brainhq/PlaceIt
Copyright: Posit Science Corporation/PlaceIt
License: Licensed by JMIR
Large Implications for Aging Research and Monitoring Abilities
San Francisco, July 14, 2025 (GlobeNewswire) — A new study shows that a novel online assessment provides a valid scientific measure of the cognitive abilities of older adults related to living independently. The self-administered assessment can be completed in 4 minutes on most internet-connected devices (eg, phones, tablets, computers) and has large implications for monitoring and improving cognitive aging. The assessment was developed by Posit Science, the maker of BrainHQ brain training exercises and assessments, and it was examined as part of a National Institutes of Health (NIH)–funded study in collaboration with researchers at McGill University.
“This is a game-changer in our ability to monitor and manage successful aging,” observed Dr Henry Mahncke, chief executive officer of Posit Science. “Maintaining the ability to live independently is one of the greatest concerns about growing older, yet it’s rarely measured because of a lack of easily accessible tools. It can take a long time to schedule an office visit for a full battery of neuropsychological tests, and few people do so. Now, here’s a new tool you could use as a brain fitness tracker—to permit ongoing monitoring.”
The study examined whether a very short, self-administered online test could provide a quick look at the “executive function” cognitive abilities of older adults. Executive function encompasses cognitive processes involved in planning, flexibility, and inhibitory control that are the cognitive building blocks for goal-directed behaviors essential to independent living.
“Clinician-administered batteries of cognition are the preferred source for insight into cognitive aging—especially to assist with diagnostic decisions,” said Dr Mahncke. “We were looking for a brief, self-administered assessment that might be used, after an in-person examination (as it was in this study), for relatively quick, and perhaps more frequent, monitoring purposes.”
The study was designed to assess the usability and validity of Freeze Frame, a cognitive assessment available on the BrainHQ platform, in predicting executive function performance in healthy older adults. Performance on Freeze Frame was analyzed in relation to self-reported demographic variables and to neuropsychological function, using NIH EXAMINER (Executive Abilities: Measures and Instruments for Neurobehavioral Evaluation and Research), a widely adopted standardized measure of executive function.
Freeze Frame is designed to measure inhibitory control (a critical component of executive function), which is the rapid ability to suppress impulsive reactions in favor of task-relevant actions in rapidly changing environments, to support cognitive flexibility, working memory, and goal focus.
In the Freeze Frame task, participants are presented with a target image at the start of a block of trials, in which a rapid (often split-second) stream of targets and foils are shown with unequal probability. Participants must withhold any response when presented with a target and enter a rapid response to each foil. Each block dynamically adjusts to become harder or easier depending on the participant’s performance and to pinpoint an overall score.
The study enrolled 92 healthy older adults (aged 65-83 years; average age: 72 years). The study found that the Freeze Frame assessment was significantly associated and positively correlated with the NIH EXAMINER executive function composite score.
As cognitive performance generally declines with age and since women tend to exhibit slightly better executive function, the assessment showed an expected small but statistically significant relationship to age and gender; however, there was no such association with years of education. A psychometric evaluation supported the test’s usability, with an average completion time of 4 minutes.
“We’ve been building and testing self-administered, computerized assessments for several years to provide more cognitive performance data that enables ongoing monitoring,” Dr Mahncke added. “The beauty here is that each assessment ties directly to our brain exercises, which have been shown to improve a broad array of cognitive function, including attention, processing speed, memory, executive function, and social cognition. This creates a path for maintaining and improving performance.”
BrainHQ exercises have shown benefits in more than 300 studies. Such benefits include gains in cognition (eg, attention, speed, memory, decision-making), quality of life (eg, depressive symptoms, confidence and control, health-related quality of life, maintenance of independent living), and real-world activities (eg, health outcomes, balance, driving, workplace activities). BrainHQ is used by leading health plans, including Medicare Advantage; leading medical centers, clinics, and communities; and elite athletes, the military, police, and other organizations focused on split-second peak performance. Consumers can try a free BrainHQ exercise daily at https://www.brainhq.com.
This research was supported by the National Institute on Aging of the NIH (awards R44AG039965 and 3R44AG039965-06S1). This content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.
Contact: media@brainhq.com
Original article:
Attarha M, Carolina de Figueiredo Pelegrino A, Ouellet L, Grant SJ, de Villers-Sidani E, Van Vleet T
Bringing Executive Function Testing Online: Assessment Validation Study
JMIR Form Res 2025;9:e75687
URL: https://formative.jmir.org/2025/1/e75687
doi: 10.2196/75687
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