This manuscript describes data collection, cleaning, and quality control procedures used in a large-scale, longitudinal, in-school study of executive function skills (EFs) and academic achievement in middle childhood, Project iLEAD (in-school Longitudinal Executive Function and Academic Achievement Database). Assessments were administered in real-world educational settings in a large sample of third through eighth grade students (ages 7 to 14; N = 1,280) over two years, with eight data collection timepoints in group settings. We assessed students with a novel, mobile EF assessment tool Adaptive Cognitive Evaluation (ACE). This battery included 11 tasks that were each designed to adapt to user performance in a trial-wise manner, allowing the same battery of tasks to be used multiple times within the same individual, and across a wide range of ages. Data quality analyses revealed that the adaptive algorithms were successful in equating challenge levels across ages 7 through 14 for 10 of 11 tasks. Data for each task were found to be approximately normally distributed and split-half reliability was acceptable across both accuracy and reaction time. ACE thus provides a reliable way to assess EFs in middle childhood using the same tasks while maintaining appropriate challenge level without facing ceiling or floor effects.

Background Cognitive impairment (CI) is one of the most prevalent symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS). However, it is difficult to include cognitive assessment as part of MS standard care since the comprehensive neuropsychological examinations are usually time-consuming and extensive. Objective To improve access to CI assessment, we evaluated the feasibility and potential assessment sensitivity of a tablet-based cognitive battery in patients with MS. Methods In total, 53 participants with MS (24 [45%] with CI and 29 [55%] without CI) and 24 non-MS participants were assessed with a tablet-based cognitive battery (Adaptive Cognitive Evaluation [ACE]) and standard cognitive measures, including the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) and the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT). Associations between performance in ACE and the SDMT/PASAT were explored, with group comparisons to evaluate whether ACE modules can capture group-level differences. Results Correlations between performance in ACE and the SDMT (R=–0.57, P<.001), as well as PASAT (R=–0.39, P=.01), were observed. Compared to non-MS and non-CI MS groups, the CI MS group showed a slower reaction time (CI MS vs non-MS: P<.001; CI MS vs non-CI MS: P=.004) and a higher attention cost (CI MS vs non-MS: P=.02; CI MS vs non-CI MS: P<.001). Conclusions These results provide preliminary evidence that ACE, a tablet-based cognitive assessment battery, provides modules that could potentially serve as a digital cognitive assessment for people with MS. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03569618; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03569618

Executive functions (EFs) are linked to positive outcomes across the lifespan. Yet, methodological challenges have prevented precise understanding of the developmental trajectory of their organization. We introduce novel methods to address challenges for both measuring and modeling EFs using an accelerated longitudinal design with a large, diverse sample of students in middle childhood (N = 1,286; ages 8 to 14). We deployed adaptive assessments to equate EF challenge across ages and a data-driven, network analytic approach to reveal the evolving diversity of EFs while simultaneously accounting for their unity. This methodological paradigm shift brings new precision and clarity to EF development, showing number of components stabilizes by age 10, but refinement of component composition continues through at least age 14.

Substantial effort has been directed toward understanding complex associations between cannabis and pain, yet we have many, and sometimes conflicting, theories regarding cannabinoid analgesia. Although acute effects of cannabis on pain have received considerable attention, long-term effects remain understudied. Two studies were conducted. First, during the laboratory study, we measured pain ratings and pain tolerance in response to pressure-based mechanical pain among recreational cannabis users (n = 33) and cannabis non-users (n = 31). Linear mixed-effects models demonstrated that: (i) pain ratings (0-100 VAS) were not different between groups (B = 1.57 (95% CI: -10.84, 13.99), p = 0.801), (ii) pain tolerance (0-240 mmHg) was associated with anxiety (B = -5.33 (95% CI: -8.29, -2.33) p &lt; 0.001), and (iii) users had lower tolerance after controlling for anxiety (B = -24.62 (95% CI: -49.32, 0.43), p = 0.046). Second, during the internet study, we retested these associations using more ecologically relevant endpoints in a separate sample. Participants completed the Graded Chronic Pain Scale, and pain-related daily interference was compared between users (n = 185) and non-users (n = 586). Linear models showed that interference (0-10 points) was associated with anxiety (B = 0.07 (95% CI: 0.06, 0.09), p &lt; 0.001) and users reported greater interference after controlling for anxiety (B = 0.27 (95% CI: 0.09, 0.46), p = 0.003). Together, these outcomes suggest that regular cannabis use is associated with differences in pain processing, although additional studies are needed to provide enhanced mechanistic understanding.

The present study tests two predictions stemming from the hypothesis that a source of difficulty with rational numbers is interference from whole number magnitude knowledge. First, inhibitory control should be an independent predictor of fraction understanding, even after controlling for working memory. Second, if the source of interference is whole number knowledge, then it should hinder fraction understanding. These predictions were tested in a racially and socioeconomically diverse sample of U.S. children (N = 765; 337 female) in Grades 3 (ages 8–9), 5 (ages 10–11), and 7 (ages 12–13) who completed a battery of computerized tests. The fraction comparison task included problems with both shared components (e.g., 3/5 > 2/5) and distinct components (e.g., 2/3 > 5/9), and problems that were congruent (e.g., 5/6 > 3/4) and incongruent (e.g., 3/4 > 5/7) with whole number knowledge. Inhibitory control predicted fraction comparison performance over and above working memory across component and congruency types. Whole number knowledge did not hinder performance and instead positively predicted performance for fractions with shared components. These results highlight a role for inhibitory control in rational number understanding and suggest that its contribution may be distinct from inhibiting whole number magnitude knowledge.