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NIH EXAMINER: Conceptualization and Development of an Executive Function Battery

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 October 2013

Joel H. Kramer ,
Dan Mungas ,
Katherine L. Possin ,
Katherine P. Rankin ,
Adam L. Boxer ,
Howard J. Rosen ,
Alan Bostrom ,
Lena Sinha ,
Ashley Berhel  and
Mary Widmeyer
Joel H. Kramer*
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California
Dan Mungas
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, University of California, Davis, California
Katherine L. Possin
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California
Katherine P. Rankin
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California
Adam L. Boxer
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California
Howard J. Rosen
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California
Alan Bostrom
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California
Lena Sinha
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California
Ashley Berhel
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California
Mary Widmeyer
Affiliation:
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, Chicago, Illinois
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Joel H. Kramer, 675 Nelson Rising Lane, Suite 190, MC 1207, San Francisco, CA 94158. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Executive functioning is widely targeted when human cognition is assessed, but there is little consensus on how it should be operationalized and measured. Recognizing the difficulties associated with establishing standard operational definitions of executive functioning, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke entered into a contract with the University of California-San Francisco to develop psychometrically robust executive measurement tools that would be accepted by the neurology clinical trials and clinical research communities. This effort, entitled Executive Abilities: Measures and Instruments for Neurobehavioral Evaluation and Research (EXAMINER), resulted in a series of tasks targeting working memory, inhibition, set shifting, fluency, insight, planning, social cognition and behavior. We describe battery conceptualization and development, data collection, scale construction based on item response theory, and lay the foundation for studying the battery's utility and validity for specific assessment and research goals. (JINS, 2013, 19, 1–9)

Keywords

working memorycognitive controlfluencyplanningsocial cognitionitem response theory
Type
Special Series
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 20 , Issue 1 , January 2014 , pp. 11 - 19
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2013 

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