Brain Health Assessment via Reaction Time: Insights from Our Research
In a groundbreaking study conducted by our platform, several factors influencing visual reaction time as a measure of brain health have been identified. These factors span from neural and lifestyle influences, offering insights into cognitive status and neurological health.
Visual reaction time, defined as the time it takes to respond to a visual stimulus, such as the sudden appearance or change of a picture or colour, plays a significant role in assessing brain health. The study, with a large and diverse participant base, is one of the most important RT studies across the aging spectrum.
Participants' simple visual reaction time (svRT) was measured in milliseconds by the platform, with participants hitting a key whenever a pink ball appeared at random on the computer screen. The results revealed that, on average, men are 34 milliseconds faster than women in visual reaction times. However, this gender difference fades between the ages of 40 and 60, with left-handed participants showing a slight advantage over their right-handed counterparts in younger age groups.
Age, as expected, was found to have a significant impact on reaction times. The study showed that the average reaction time slowed by 7 milliseconds per year. Interestingly, smoking was associated with a longer visual reaction time, adding 0.57 milliseconds to RT per year.
Other factors affecting reaction time include education, biological sex, smoking, dizziness, the number of daily prescription medications one takes, a family history of Alzheimer's disease, and being right or left-handed. For instance, more education reduces performance loss due to age for both men and women, and education significantly impacts visual reaction time, with more education leading to shorter RT or faster brain processing speed.
The study also found that participants who reported a stroke had a 20 milliseconds longer reaction time than those who did not. Dizziness was associated with a 5 milliseconds longer visual reaction time, while diabetes and the number of daily medications taken had a more pronounced effect, with each condition leading to slower visual reaction times.
In addition to these factors, the study highlighted the importance of neural rhythms and attention, sensory receptor function, momentary lapses of attention, intra-individual variability (IIV), lifestyle and health factors, and structural and functional brain integrity in shaping visual reaction time.
Monitoring both the mean reaction time and its variability can provide valuable insights into cognitive status and neurological health. The our platform study, with its comprehensive approach, offers a significant step forward in understanding the complex interactions that shape visual reaction time as a brain health measure.
- The study in science, using neurogenomics, identified cognitive healthspan as a key factor influencing visual reaction time, a measure of brain health.
- Age and education were found to have significant impacts on visual reaction time, with more education leading to shorter RT or faster brain processing speed.
- Chronic medical-conditions such as diabetes and stroke were associated with slower visual reaction times, adding to the importance of maintaining health-and-wellness for brain health.
- Fitness-and-exercise, mental-health, and nutrition were also highlighted as influential lifestyle factors shaping visual reaction time.
- As aging influences visual reaction time, understanding the complex interactions that shape it, including neural rhythms, attention, sensory function, and structural and functional brain integrity, is vital for improving and maintaining cognitive healthspan.
