ArticleDelaware journal of public health2026
Exploring Cognitive Load and Relative Neural Efficiency in Aging: : Preliminary Insights from fNIRS and the SLUMS Assessment.
Article in Delaware journal of public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objective: To examine whether prefrontal cortex activation measured by functional near‑infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) during the St. Louis University Mental Status (SLUMS) exam differs by cognitive status and whether relative neural efficiency (RNE) can serve as a physiological marker of cognitive impairment. Methods: This exploratory study was conducted in 2024 at a senior center in a small Mid‑Atlantic U.S. city. Thirteen community‑dwelling adults aged 65-85 years completed the SLUMS while wearing an fNIRS sensor positioned over the prefrontal cortex. Participants were classified as having normal cognition (NOR), mild cognitive disorder (MCD), or dementia (DEM) based on SLUMS scores. ΔHbO served as the indicator of cognitive effort, and RNE was calculated by combining normalized SLUMS performance and oxygenation values. Group differences were tested using ANOVA with confirmatory nonparametric analyses. Results: RNE differed significantly among groups (F₂,₁₀ = 5.26, p = 0.0275). Post‑hoc comparisons showed lower RNE in the DEM group compared with the NOR group (p = 0.0224). Confirmatory Kruskal‑Wallis testing supported these findings (p = 0.0287), with a significant DEM-NOR difference on Dunn's test (p = 0.0311). Descriptive hemodynamic patterns indicated higher ΔHbO and ΔHbR variability in the DEM group across SLUMS question blocks. Conclusions: Older adults with dementia demonstrated reduced neural efficiency during SLUMS administration, suggesting greater cognitive effort relative to performance. These preliminary findings indicate that SLUMS items impose different cognitive workloads depending on impairment level. Policy Implications: Integrating physiological markers such as neural efficiency into cognitive screening may enhance early identification of impairment, support more targeted referral pathways, and inform public health planning for Delaware's aging population.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.