Neuropsychological Assessment: Digital vs. Paper Comparability in Parkinson's Disease and College Students

Objective: The use of electronic neuropsychological assessment has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to be essential (Crivelli, 2024). While it may be more accessible for participants to complete assessments online, the accuracy of the results may be compromised. A recent study conducted by Castelli et. al. found that a cognitive screener called the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a sensitive and specific test when used to detect cognitive impairment in individuals with Parkinson's Disease (2021). The current study administered the MoCA, Boston Cognitive Assessment (BoCA), paper Stroop task, and eStroop task to both college students and participants with Parkinson's Disease, and compared the performance of paper-and-pencil tests and electronic tests. It was hypothesized that the performance of electronic assessments and paper-and-pencil assessments would be positively correlated. Participants & Method: Twenty-seven participants (25 college students and two individuals with Parkinson's Disease) completed a combined lab protocol. The present study focused on cognitive screeners, including the paper MoCA, BoCA, and the TabCat and neuropsychological tests included the paper Stroop, eStroop, and Digit Span Task (Forward and Backward). Results: A Pearson's R correlation was run on preliminary data of the college student subtest from the MoCA and the BoCA, r(8) = -.409, p = .24. Discussion: This study aimed to determine if there were significant differences in paper-and-pencil and electronic neuropsychological exams. The preliminary results showed that there is a moderate correlation between paper-and-pencil and electronic neuropsychological testing, suggesting that the use of electronic tests may be feasible in a clinical setting. Future directions involve a larger sample size of participants with Parkinson's Disease.