Validation of computerized episodic memory measures in a diverse clinical sample referred for neuropsychological assessment.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the convergent and discriminant validity of two brief computerized episodic memory measures in a large, diverse clinical sample of adults undergoing neuropsychological assessment.

METHOD: Computerized measures of word and face memory were administered to 233 adults (age 30 and over) who also completed comprehensive neuropsychological testing.

RESULTS: Moderate correlations were observed between the computerized memory tests and a wide range of traditional neuropsychological measures of episodic memory (e.g. word-list learning, story recall, face recognition, design recall). Select measures of visuomotor processing speed and language were also related to performance on the computerized tasks. In contrast, the computerized memory tests showed weak correlations with tests in other cognitive domains (i.e. visuospatial skills, attention/working memory, executive function, motor dexterity, academic skills) and self-report screening measures of mood and anxiety. Similar to traditional measures of episodic memory, the computerized memory measures were sensitive to effects of age and gender.

CONCLUSIONS: Computerized measures of word and face memory showed good convergent and discriminant validity in this diverse clinical sample supporting the construct validity of these measures. This indicates that it may be feasible to measure memory function in clinical settings using brief, well-designed computerized memory measures.