A computerised approach to measuring changes in cognitive efficiency in young, elderly and demented populations

The microcomputer has provided an excellent vehicle for the development of definitive assessment procedures. Some cognitive functions, particularly attention and information processing, simply cannot be appropriately measured without automated testing procedures. Furthermore, the opportunity, provided by the microcomputer, of precisely measuring the speed, as well as the quality, of various stages of information processing ensures that changes in motivation and/or strategy are not confounded with changes in the efficiency of cognitive function. This is not to say that all tasks need to be computerised nor that simply computerising a task is the key to success. The author concentrates on the specific procedures by which tasks should be installed on computerised systems and identifies innovations in technology that are useful to cognitive testing as well as those that are not