Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39809614›Full record

ArticleThe journal of prevention of Alzheimer's disease2025

Validation of the multi-day Boston remote assessment of neurocognitive health (BRANCH) among cognitively impaired & unimpaired older adults.

Emma L Weizenbaum, Stephanie Hsieh, Cassidy Molinare, Daniel Soberanes, Caitlyn Christiano, Andrea M Román Viera, Juliana A U Anzai, Stephanie Moreno, Emily C Campbell, Hyun-Sik Yang and 4 more

Abstract readValidation Study
In one paragraph

Article in The journal of prevention of Alzheimer's disease, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Emma L WeizenbaumDepartment of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Stephanie HsiehDepartment of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Cassidy MolinareDepartment of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Daniel SoberanesDepartment of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Caitlyn ChristianoDepartment of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Andrea M Román VieraDepartment of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Juliana A U AnzaiDepartment of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Stephanie MorenoDepartment of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Emily C CampbellDepartment of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Hyun-Sik YangDepartment of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Gad A MarshallDepartment of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA; Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02129, USA.
Reisa A SperlingDepartment of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA; Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02129, USA.
Kathryn V PappDepartment of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Rebecca E AmariglioDepartment of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. Electronic address: ramariglio@mgh.harvard.edu.

Funding

Research Education ComponentP30AG062421 · NIA · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI Christine S Ritchie · 2019 to 2026
$36.5M
Ahead of the Curve: Early detection and monitoring of learning decrements in Alzheimers diseaseR01AG084017 · NIA · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI Kathryn Victoria Papp · 2024 to 2026
$2.5M
NIA NIH HHS P30 AG062421NIA NIH HHS R01 AG084017
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe multi-day Boston Remote Assessment of Neurocognitive Health (BRANCH) is a remote, web-based assessment designed to capture the earliest cognitive changes in the preclinical stage of Alzheimer's disease (AD). It has been validated in unimpaired older adults, but as individuals progress on the AD continuum, assessments need to remain feasible and valid at different clinical stages. The focus of this study was to assess feasibility and validity of multi-day BRANCH in participants with and without cognitive impairment.

methodsFor seven days participants completed the BRANCH paradigm to capture a muti-day learning curve score. Participants also completed the mini-mental-status-exam (MMSE) and the Quick Dementia Rating Scale (QDRS). The primary cohort included 81 older adults: 38 with cognitive impairment (CI) and 43 cognitively-unimpaired (CU). A complementary replication cohort included 16 participants with consensus-defined mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 47 demographically-matched cognitively unimpaired participants.

resultsMulti-day BRANCH was feasibile with 92 % or participants completing all seven days of testing. More CI than CU reported nervousness and found tasks slightly less enjoyable on Day 1, but ratings increased at a similar rate in both groups. Convergent validity was confirmed by a positive association between BRANCH and total MMSE and QDRS scores. There was a large effect size of group status on BRANCH (CI vs. CU; Cohen's d = 0.83) and per logistic regression, BRANCH significantly predicted group status (β = -1.49, p < 0.001); even more so between MCI and CU in the replication cohort.

conclusionsFindings suggest that a remotely administered web-based assessment of multi-day learning is feasible and valid in participants with and without cognitive impairment.

Indexed as

Cognitive DysfunctionNeuropsychological TestsAgedAged, 80 and overBostonCohort StudiesFeasibility StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMental Status and Dementia TestsReproducibility of ResultsDigital cognitive assessmentMild cognitive impairmentPreclinical Alzheimer's disease

Identifiers

PMID39809614
PMCPMC12183941

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.