HUMAN MEMORY CHUNK CAPACITY TEST

• US 20150118664A1
• Filed: 10/29/2013
• Published: 04/30/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Eugen Tarnow
• Original Assignee: Eugen Tarnow
• Inventors: Tarnow, Eugen
• Application Number:
  US14/066,195
• Publication Number:
  US 20150118664A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 434/236
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/16 Devices for psychotechnics using teaching or educational appliances G09B1/00 - G09B7/00; Testing reaction times ; Devices for evaluating the psychological state
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/165 Evaluating the state of mind, e.g. depression, anxiety
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4088 Diagnosing of monitoring cognitive diseases, e.g. Alzheimer, prion diseases or dementia
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4848 Monitoring or testing the effects of treatment, e.g. of medication

Abstract

Several methods are used to better define and optimize item sets for short-term memory tests with respect to chunkiness and homogeneity, including dynamically changing the test item set to make it have as few chunkable items as possible. A resulting item set allows the test taker to see in an intuitive way how her or his memory has a limited capacity of, typically, three non-chunkable items. The test can be done, inter alia, via computer, via the telephone, and via robocalling. It can, inter alia, provide mass screening for Alzheimer'"'"'s disease and detect early Alzheimer'"'"'s disease in drug trials.

Claims

1. A method for testing the brain activity of a test taker, comprising:

(a) providing a system selected from the group consisting of a single computational device and multiple computational devices, said system having input, output, and storage mechanisms,

(b) selecting an item set that has a property selected from the group consisting of high homogeneity, low homogeneity, high chunkiness, and low chunkiness,

(c) using said system to store said item set,

(d) presenting a subset of items from said item set to said test taker,

(e) storing said subset of items,

(f) requesting said test taker to respond with a response selected from the group consisting of recalling said subset of items and recognizing said subset of items,

(g) storing said response and timings of said response,

(h) repeating steps (d)-(g) N times where N is selected from the group consisting of no times, one time, two times, and several times,

whereby said test taker is tested with an item set with said property.

2. The method of claim 1, further including administering a neuropharmacological agent to said test taker prior to step (d), whereby the effect of said neuropharmacological agent on said response can be ascertained.

3. The method of claim 1, further including using said system to request a language preference from said test taker, receive said language preference from said test taker, and

present said subset of items in the requested language.

4. The method of claim 1, further including using said system to construct an analysis selected from the group of restating said response and said timings of said response, calculating averages of said response and said timings of said response, calculating a Recency-Primacy Shift of said response, calculating a slope of a graph of said response versus order of item presentation, identifying whether said response indicates said test taker may have Alzheimer'"'"'s disease, identifying whether averages of said response and said timings of said response indicates said test taker may have Alzheimer'"'"'s disease, identifying whether a Recency-Primacy Shift of said response indicates said test taker may have Alzheimer'"'"'s disease, identifying whether a slope of a graph of said response versus order of item presentation indicates said test taker may have Alzheimer'"'"'s disease.

5. The method of claim 1, further including using said system to issue a pass code if said response indicates a particular activity could be effectively carried out.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said item set consists of two digit integers excluding two digit integers selected from the group consisting of no integers, integers that are multiples of 10, integers that are multiples of 11, integers that are related by transposition to already presented integers, integers that are one number away from integers already presented and integers that are less than three numbers away from integers already presented.

7. An inexpensive method for testing brain activity of a test taker selected from the group consisting of one human subject and multiple human subjects comprising:

(a) providing a system selected from the group consisting of a single computational device and multiple computational devices, said system having input, output, phone calling and storage mechanisms,

(b) using said system to store an item set,

(c) initiating a phone call by a first entity selected from the group consisting of said system, said test taker, a researcher using said test taker as a subject, a medical provider caring for said test taker, and a psychological provider caring for said test taker,

(d) using said system to present a subset of items from said item set via said phone call to said test taker,

(e) requesting said test taker to respond with a response selected from the group consisting of recalling said subset of items as having been just presented and recognizing said subset of items as having been just presented,

(f) storing said response and timings of said response,

(g) repeating step (d)-(f) N times where N is selected from the group consisting of no times, one time, two times, and several times,

whereby said response and said timings of said response by said test taker are stored via said phone call.

8. The method of claim 7, further including using said system to construct an analysis selected from the group of restating said response and said timings of said response, calculating averages of said response and said timings of said response, calculating a Recency-Primacy Shift of said response, calculating a slope of a graph of said response versus order of item presentation, identifying whether said response indicates said test taker may have Alzheimer'"'"'s disease, identifying whether averages of said response and said timings of said response indicates said test taker may have Alzheimer'"'"'s disease, identifying whether a Recency-Primacy Shift of said response indicates said test taker may have Alzheimer'"'"'s disease, identifying whether a slope of a graph of said response versus order of item presentation indicates said test taker may have Alzheimer'"'"'s disease.

9. The method of claim 8 further including presenting said analysis to a party selected from the group consisting of said test taker, a researcher using said test taker as a subject, a medical provider caring for said test taker, and a psychological provider caring for said test taker.

10. The method of claim 7, further including administering a neuropharmacological agent to said test taker prior to step (d), whereby the effect of said neuropharmacological agent on said response can be ascertained.

11. The method of claim 7, further including using said system to request a language preference from said test taker, receive said language preference from said test taker, and present said subset of items in the requested language.

12. The method of claim 7, further including using said system to issue a pass code if said response indicates a particular activity could be effectively carried out.

13. The method of claim 7 wherein said item set consists of two digit integers excluding two digit integers selected from the group consisting of no integers, integers that are multiples of 10, integers that are multiples of 11, integers that are related by transposition to already presented integers, integers that are one number away from integers already presented and integers that are less than three numbers away from integers already presented.

14. A method for testing brain activity of a test taker, comprising:

(a) providing a system selected from the group consisting of a single computational device and multiple computational devices, said system having input, output, and storage mechanisms for storing an item set,

(b) using said system to present N items from said item set to said test taker,

(c) storing said N items,

(d) requesting said test taker to respond with a response selected from the group consisting of recalling said N items and recognizing said N items,

(e) storing said response and timings of said response,

(f) repeating steps (b)-(e) W times where W is selected from the group consisting of no times, one time, two times, and several times,

(g) repeating steps (b)-(f) with N=N+1,

whereby the properties of said response are stored for N items and for N+1 items.

15. The method of claim 14, further including administering a neuropharmacological agent to said test taker prior to step (b), whereby the effect of said neuropharmacological agent on said response can be ascertained.

16. The method of claim 14, further including using said system to request a language preference from said test taker, receive said language preference from said test taker, and present said subset of items in the requested language.

17. The method of claim 14, further including using said system to construct an analysis selected from the group of restating said response and said timings of said response, calculating averages of said response and said timings of said response, calculating a Recency-Primacy Shift of said response, calculating a slope of a graph of said response versus order of item presentation, identifying whether said response indicates said test taker may have Alzheimer'"'"'s disease, identifying whether averages of said response and said timings of said response indicates said test taker may have Alzheimer'"'"'s disease, identifying whether a Recency-Primacy Shift of said response indicates said test taker may have Alzheimer'"'"'s disease, identifying whether a slope of a graph of said response versus order of item presentation indicates said test taker may have Alzheimer'"'"'s disease.

18. The method of claim 14, further including using said system to issue a pass code if said response indicates a particular activity could be effectively carried out.

19. The method of claim 14 wherein said item set consists of two digit integers excluding two digit integers selected from the group consisting of no integers, integers that are multiples of 10, integers that are multiples of 11, integers that are related by transposition to already presented integers, integers that are one number away from integers already presented and integers that are less than three numbers away from integers already presented.

20. A method for more efficiently testing brain activity of a test taker by using a non-trivial dynamical set change rule comprising:

(a) providing a system selected from the group consisting of a single computational device and multiple computational devices, said system having input, output, and storage mechanisms for storing an item set,

(b) presenting an item from said item set to said test taker,

(c) changing said item set using a non-trivial dynamical set change rule selected from the group consisting of remove items, substitute items, and add items,

whereby said item set is changed to obtain a preferred property selected from the group consisting of increased homogeneity, decreased homogeneity, increased chunkiness and decreased chunkiness.

21. The method of claim 20, further including using said system to request a language preference from said test taker, receive said language preference from said test taker, and present said subset of items in the requested language.

22. The method of claim 20 wherein said item set consists of two digit integers excluding two digit integers selected from the group consisting of no integers, integers that are multiples of 10, integers that are multiples of 11, integers that are related by transposition to already presented integers, integers that are one number away from integers already presented and integers that are less than three numbers away from integers already presented.

23. A method for systematically improving a test item set and a set of dynamical set change rules for testing the brain activity of a test taker selected from the group consisting of one human subject and multiple human subjects comprising:

(a) providing a system selected from the group consisting of a single computational device and multiple computational devices, said system having input, output, and storage mechanisms,

(b) using said system for storing a first item set and a first set of dynamical set change rules,

(c) presenting a subset of items from said first item set to said test taker using said first set of dynamical set change rules,

(d) storing said subset of items from said first item set,

(e) requesting said test taker to respond with a first response selected from the group consisting of recalling said subset of items and recognizing said subset of items,

(f) storing said first response and timings of said first response,

(g) repeating steps (c)-(f) X times where X is selected from the group consisting of no times, one time, two times, and several times,

(h) constructing a second item set by varying said first item set by a method selected from the group consisting of substituting items, adding items, and deleting items,

(i) constructing a second set of dynamical set change rules by varying said first set of dynamical set change rules by a method selected from the group consisting of substituting dynamical set change rules, adding dynamical set change rules, and deleting dynamical set change rules,

(j) storing said second item set and said second set of dynamical set change rules,

(k) presenting a subset of items from said second item set to said test taker using said second set of dynamical set change rules,

(l) storing said subset of items from said second item set,

(m) requesting said test taker to respond with a second response selected from the group consisting of recalling said subset of items from said second item set and recognizing said subset of items from said second item set,

(n) storing said second response and timings of said second response,

(o) repeating steps (k)-(n) Y times where Y is selected from the group consisting of no times, one time, two times, and several times,

(p) selecting from the combination of said first item set and said first set of dynamical set change rules and the combination of said second item set and said second set of dynamical set change rules a preferred combination of an item set and a set of dynamical set change rules with a preferred property selected from the group consisting of increased homogeneity, decreased homogeneity, increased chunkiness and decreased chunkiness,

(q) substituting said preferred item set and said preferred set of dynamical set change rules for said first item set and said first set of dynamical set change rules,

(r) repeating steps (b)-(q) Z times where Z is selected from the group consisting of no times, one time, two times, and several times,

whereby said first item set and said first set of dynamical set change rules obtains said preferred property.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein said first item set initially consists of two digit integers and said first set of dynamical set change rules consists of the empty set.