Erin I. Walsh

Should participants be given a mobile phone, or use their own? Effects of novelty vs utility

Researchers may want to standardise data collection by proving a mobile phone.Participants responded 20 times, using their own phone or one we provided.If using SMS, there was no difference between those using own or borrowed phone.If using app, those using a borrowed phone provided more complete data, but took longer to respond.The choice to provide a mobile phone can impact on response behaviour. Due to their ubiquity, mobile telephones may herald a great opportunity for ecological momentary assessment data collection. To access samples which do not own a mobile, or do not own a mobile that supports the preferred mode of response (i.e. apps), researchers may wish to provide participants with an appropriate mobile telephone for the purposes of participation. This often involves replacing a phone already in use. This study investigated the impact of providing a mobile telephone to participants for the purposes of participating in research, comparing the response behaviour of participants using their own mobile telephone against those using one provided by the researcher. Using iPhone 3s, 179 undergraduate participants completed a six-item questionnaire, 20 times over 2day via app or text message. The three experimental groups consisted of those using their own iPhone, those using their own SIM in a provided iPhone, and those using a provided SIM in a provided iPhone. Results suggest that researchers seeking to conduct self-report research using mobile phones should be aware that the choice to provide a mobile telephone to standardise participant response platforms can impact on response behaviour.

The cerebellum shrinks faster than normal ageing in Alzheimer's disease but not in mild cognitive impairment

While acceleration in age‐related cerebral atrophy has been well documented in Alzheimers disease, the cerebellar contributions to this effect have not been thoroughly investigated. Objective: This study investigated cerebellar volume and atrophy rate using magnetic resonance imaging in individuals with normal cognition (CN), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and Alzheimers disease (AD). Methods: Two hundred twenty‐nine CN, 398 MCI and 191 AD participants of stage I ADNI database with screening scans were evaluated for cerebellar volume. Of those, 758 individuals with two or more follow‐up scans were categorized into stable, converted, and reverted CN, MCI and AD and evaluated for cerebellar atrophy rate. Results: Cerebellar volume was 2.5% larger in CN than in those with AD but there were no differences between CN and MCI and MCI and AD in cross‐sectional analysis. Similarly, the atrophy rate was 49% larger in AD and 64% larger in MCI who converted to AD but no difference was detected between CN and MCI. There were no association between education and APOEe4 and cerebellar volume or cerebellar atrophy across the diagnostic groups. Conclusion: Cerebellar atrophy contributes to Alzheimers clinical progression but mostly at the late stage of the disease. However, even in the late stage shrinkage rate is less than the average of the shrinkage in the cerebrum and is not associated with AD moderators. This suggests that cerebellar involvement is secondary to cerebral involvement and can be due to network connection spread regardless of the primary pathology. Hum Brain Mapp, 2017.

Brain atrophy in ageing: Estimating effects of blood glucose levels vs. other type 2 diabetes effects

It is now well documented that ageing is associated with brain shrinkage, particularly in late adulthood [1,2]. From age 60 onwards, the average adult brain atrophies 0.5%/yr for the whole brain, 0.33%/yr for grey matter and 0.62–0.68%/yr for white matter [3–5]. This may seem small, but cumulatively adds up to substantial volume losses over decades: between the ages of 60 and 70, approximately 54 mL (5%) of total brain volume is lost, a substantial amount when coupled with cumulative atrophy across the lifespan. Type two diabetes mellitus (T2D) is associated with the development of structural brain abnormalities, including increased cerebral atrophy over time [2]. Individuals with T2D have a significantly lower total brain volume (0.1–1.5%), grey matter volume ( 1%), and WMV (< 1%) than those with normal fasting glucose (NFG), corresponding to between one and three years of age-associated atrophy [1]. There is mounting evidence that variation of blood glucose in the normal fasting glucose (NFG) range may also impact on brain structure and be associated with cognitive impairment [1,2,6]. Blood glucose levels and T2D are typically related, but it does not follow that an individual with T2D necessarily has high blood glucose levels. Successful glycaemic control following diagnosis can return blood glucose levels to normal. However, glycaemic control is not synonymous with addressing T2D comorbidities, such as obesity or pre-existing vascular damage, which mechanistically link T2D to cerebral atrophy. For example, while blood glucose is associated with both grey and white matter atrophy, obesity has differential effects on grey and white matter in otherwise healthy overweight and obese individuals [7,8]. The current study examined the overlap in the association between blood glucose levels (across the whole range, and in NFG only), T2D and longitudinal brain volumes (total, white matter, and grey matter) in a healthy, community-living ageing population (see Fig. S1, Supplementary material).

The association between Western and Prudent dietary patterns and fasting blood glucose levels in type 2 diabetes and normal glucose metabolism in older Australian adults

High blood glucose and type 2 diabetes are associated with a range of adverse health and cognitive outcomes. One factor that contributes to high blood glucose and type 2 diabetes is dietary intake. This study investigated the relationship between dietary patterns, fasting blood glucose and diabetes status in a sample of 209 participants aged 60–65. Blood plasma glucose was measured from venous blood samples. Individual Prudent and Western dietary patterns were estimated from a self-completed food frequency questionnaire. The relationship between dietary patterns, diabetes, and blood glucose was assessed via general linear model analyses controlling for age, sex, height, and total caloric intake. Results indicated that there was no association between Prudent diet and fasting blood glucose levels, or type 2 diabetes. In contrast, an individual in the upper tertile for Western dietary score had a significantly higher risk of having diabetes than an individual in the lower tertile for Western dietary score. However, there was no significant association between Western diet and fasting blood glucose. Western diet may be associated with type 2 diabetes through mechanisms beyond impacting blood plasma glucose directly. The fact that the association between Western diet and type 2 diabetes remained even when total caloric intake was controlled for highlights the need for policy and population health interventions targeting the reduction of unhealthy food consumption.

Temporal Considerations for Self-Report Research Using Short Message Service

Abstract. When using Short Message Service (SMS) as a tool for data collection in psychological research, participants can be contacted at any time. This study examined how sampling frequency and time of day of contact impacted on response rates, response completeness, and response delay in repeated measures data collected via SMS. Eighty-five undergraduate students completed a six-item self-report questionnaire via SMS, in response to 20 SMS prompts sent on a random schedule. One group responded across 2 days, the other on a compressed schedule of 1 day. Overall, there was a high response rate. There was no significant difference in response rate, completeness, and delay of those responding across 1 or 2 days. Timing between prompts did not impact on response behavior. Responses were more likely to be complete if prompts were sent during the working day. The shortest time between prompts was 15 min, however, and use of an undergraduate sample limits generalizability. When conducting repeated measures sam...

SMS4Deaf â Self-report Reflections on SMS as a Mode for Psychology Researchwith the Deaf

Purpose: Text messaging (Short Messaging Service, SMS) is ubiquitous in Australia. It may prove a cheap and convenient method allowing bidirectional communication between participant and psychological researcher. A strength of applying SMS as a research tool is its inclusiveness, as it may be used to communicate with both hearing and deaf participants. This paper explores how the Australian deaf community engages with SMS, and how this engagement may be applied to using SMS to communicate with deaf participants in a psychological research setting. Methods: Sixty six hearing impaired participants aged 20-89 years, ranging from moderately to profoundly deaf took part by way of questionnaire (paper, online text, or online Auslan translation). At the end, they had the option to provide their mobile number and be sent a questionnaire via SMS. Results: Most participants owned mobile phones, and used SMS daily. 60% believed that using SMS for research is a good idea. However, this did not translate into volunteering to participate in research using SMS – of the half who provided their mobile telephone numbers for subsequent participation, there was only a 17% response rate. Pearsons Chi-squared tests, Spearmans correlation, and logistic regression did not reveal any significant differences between those who did and did not offer their mobile telephone number in terms of mobile ownership, daily SMS usage, degree of deafness, or confidence with written English. Conclusions: Though many indicated willingness to participate in research via SMS by providing their mobile numbers, a very low response rates to SMS questionnaires indicates that SMS may not be the most engaging method for research with this sample.

Evaluation of a Short Message Service diary methodology in a nonclinical, naturalistic setting.

Particularly suited to repeated measures in naturalistic settings, Short Message Service (SMS) is garnering increasing attention as a viable method of data collection. The current study explored issues of practical importance for the development of this methodology, including factors impacting on attrition and compliance, and participant perception of SMS. Using a business-card-sized questionnaire key, 98 university students were sent prompt SMS messages nightly for a week. Completion and compliance were very high in all participants who responded to at least one prompt SMS; those who responded at least once (n=63) responded to 83 percent of all seven prompts, with 95 percent of responses containing appropriate alphanumeric answers to all questions. However, a time lag between recruitment and participation was associated with a failure to commence the diary study. Participants reported positive perceptions of SMS privacy and convenience.

Higher fasting plasma glucose is associated with smaller striatal volume and poorer fine motor skills in a longitudinal cohort

Previous studies have demonstrated associations between higher blood glucose and brain atrophy and functional deficits, however, little is known about the association between blood glucose, striatal volume and striatal function despite sensori-motor deficits being reported in diabetes. This study investigated the relationship between blood glucose levels, striatal volume and fine motor skills in a longitudinal cohort of cognitively healthy individuals living in the community with normal or impaired fasting glucose or type 2 diabetes. Participants were 271 cognitively healthy individuals (mean age 63 years at inclusion) with normal fasting glucose levels (<5.6 mmol/L) (n=173), impaired fasting glucose (5.6-6.9 mmol/L) (n=57), or with type 2 diabetes (≥7.0 mmol/L) (n=41). Fasting glucose, Purdue Pegboard scores as measurement of fine motor skills, and brain scans were collected at wave 1, 2 and 4, over a total follow-up of twelve years. Striatal volumes were measured using FreeSurfer after controlling for age, sex and intracranial volume. Results showed that type 2 diabetes was associated with smaller right putamen volume and lower Purdue Pegboard scores after controlling for age, sex and intracranial volume. These findings add to the evidence suggesting that higher blood glucose levels, especially type 2 diabetes, may impair brain structure and function.

A simple and clinically relevant combination of neuroimaging and functional indexes for the identification of those at highest risk of Alzheimer's disease

The current challenge in clinical practice is to identify those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), who are at greater risk of Alzheimers disease (AD) conversion in the near future. The aim of this study was to assess a clinically practical new hippocampal index-hippocampal volume normalized by cerebellar volume (hippocampus to cerebellum volume ratio) used alone or in combination with scores on the Mini-Mental State Examination, as a predictor of conversion from MCI to AD. The predictive value of the HCCR was also contrasted to that of the hippocampal volume to intracranial volume ratio. The findings revealed that the performance of the combination of measures was significantly better than that of each measure used individually. The combination of Mini-Mental State Examination and hippocampal volume, normalized by the cerebellum or by intracranial volume, accurately discriminated individuals with MCI who progress to AD within 5 years from other MCI types (stable, reverters) and those with intact cognition (area under receiver operating curve of 0.88 and 0.89, respectively). Normalization by cerebellar volume was as accurate as normalization by intracranial volume with the advantage of being more practical, particularly for serial assessments.

Detecting Temporal Cognition in Text: Comparison of Judgements by Self, Expert and Machine

Background: There is a growing research focus on temporal cognition, due to its importance in memory and planning, and links with psychological wellbeing. Researchers are increasingly using diary studies, experience sampling and social media data to study temporal thought. However, it remains unclear whether such reports can be accurately interpreted for temporal orientation. In this study, temporal orientation judgements about text reports of thoughts were compared across human coding, automatic text mining, and participant self-report. Methods: 214 participants responded to randomly timed text message prompts, categorically reporting the temporal direction of their thoughts and describing the content of their thoughts, producing a corpus of 2505 brief (1–358, M = 43 characters) descriptions. Two researchers independently, blindly coded temporal orientation of the descriptions. Four approaches to automated coding used tense to establish temporal category for each description. Concordance between temporal orientation assessments by self-report, human coding, and automatic text mining was evaluated. Results: Human coding more closely matched self-reported coding than automated methods. Accuracy for human (79.93% correct) and automated (57.44% correct) coding was diminished when multiple guesses at ambiguous temporal categories (ties) were allowed in coding (reduction to 74.95% correct for human, 49.05% automated). Conclusion: Ambiguous tense poses a challenge for both human and automated coding protocols that attempt to infer temporal orientation from text describing momentary thought. While methods can be applied to minimize bias, this study demonstrates that researchers need to be wary about attributing temporal orientation to text-reported thought processes, and emphasize the importance of eliciting self-reported judgements.