This project aimed to develop a new method of assessing executive function in children using cognitively demanding physical tasks that require thinking in action.  Motion capture technology and scoring algorithms were developed by the computer science team to evaluate children?s performance. The result was a novel approach to cognitive assessment called the Activate Test of Embodied Cognition (ATEC). Conventional tests of cognitive functioning rely on pencil and paper, or computer administered tasks (like IQ tests) and have modest relationships to children?s functioning in daily life.  Embodied cognition is a construct based on the fact that neurocognition develops along with and by way of physical movement, is sustained by physical activity and that the mind and body interact continuously in daily functioning.

During this project, our team developed 32 ATEC tasks that measure balance, motor speed, rhythm and coordination, attention, working memory, response inhibition and self-regulation. Video instructions for each task were scripted and recorded and then a separate video was created to administer the task (like an exercise video). These were embedded in original software, downloadable on conventional computer equipment. Originally, Kinect cameras were used for motion capture, but the computer science team learned that accurate scoring algorithms could be achieved using conventional webcam data. This finding allowed ATEC to become an easily transferrable technology. 

The computer science team was able to develop automatic scoring for several of the tasks and achieved better than 90% accuracy compared to expert scoring.  These were scientific accomplishments, published in the proceedings of leading computer science journals. Algorithm development has not been completed for all the tasks and will become more accurate as more data accumulates. When these scoring algorithms are embedded in the software, ATEC will then provide automated scoring of ATEC performance.  Meanwhile, a scoring pamphlet for hand scoring all the tasks was developed and used for research purposes.

ATEC data was collected from a community sample of 55 children, age 5 to 11 years, at their neighborhood schools. Children were assessed twice, two weeks apart, for determining reliability, and they were also given standard cognitive tests.  Their parents completed questionnaires on their functioning in daily life. ATEC total scores were significantly correlated with age and with concurrent measures of executive functioning. It showed discriminant validity between At-Risk children and normal range children on parent ratings of overall competency, attention problems, cognitive regulation problems and overall executive function problems.  ATEC total score was also found to be a better predictor of these problems than conventional cognitive tests. ATEC had excellent test-retest reliability with only a small practice effect.  This means that ATEC is valid and reliable and can be used to test changes as a child grows older or through interventions aimed at improving executive functions. These findings were published in the journal, Child Neuropsychology in 2021.

In the final two years of the project, an adult version of ATEC was developed to measure decline in cognitive functioning and is being studied with older adults and those with specific cognitive disorders including acquired brain injury and dementia. The adult version and child version combined are called the Automated Test of Embodied Cognition (ATEC), and a patent application for the computer application has been submitted to the US Patent Office and Trademark Office under that name. 

ATEC is the first assessment instrument to systematically measure the construct of Embodied Cognition.  It is the first to use motion capture technology and machine learning algorithms to provide users a high- fidelity, computerized administration and scoring system.  As a transferrable technology, it can be widely used as a downloadable computer application, and it can be easily translated into other languages for international use.  It is also possible that it can be developed for telehealth and that a modified version can be used for in-home assessments. 

Last Modified: 11/14/2022
Modified by: Morris Bell