III. NIH toolbox cognition battery (CB): measuring episodic memory
Open accessAbstract
One of the most significant domains of cognition is episodic memory, which allows for rapid acquisition and long-term storage of new information. For purposes of the NIH Toolbox, we devised a new test of episodic memory. The nonverbal NIH Toolbox Picture Sequence Memory Test (TPSMT) requires participants to reproduce the order of an arbitrarily ordered sequence of pictures presented on a computer. To adjust for ability, sequence length varies from 6 to 15 pictures. Multiple trials are administered to increase reliability. Pediatric data from the validation study revealed the TPSMT to be sensitive to age-related changes. The task also has high test–retest reliability and promising construct validity. Steps to further increase the sensitivity of the instrument to individual and age-related variability are described.
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The NIHTB-CB has demonstrated test-retest reliability (ICC 0.76 to 0.97) and convergent and discriminant validity.
“The developers evaluated and described the psychometric soundness of each test, including test–retest reliability (intra-class correlation coefficients ranging from 0.76 to 0.97) as well as convergent and discriminant validity (Bauer et al., 2013; Carlozzi et al., 2013; Gershon et al., 2013; Tulsky et al., 2013; Zelazo et al., 2013).”
From Cognitive weaknesses or impairments on the NIH toolbox cognition battery in children and adolescents: base rates in a normative sample and proposed methods for classification (2025) · cites this paper as Bauer et al., 2013
The Results (Test–Retest Reliability) report an ICC of 0.76 for the TPSMT, and the Construct Validity results provide evidence of convergent validity. The Discussion qualifies discriminant validity: it was promising for children aged 8–15, but the TPSMT did not show discriminant validity in the younger group. This paper supplies the 0.76 endpoint, not the full 0.76–0.97 range cited across multiple papers. (LLM, conf=0.88)
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Cook, N. E., Iverson, G. L., & Karr, J. E. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1473095
- Authors
- Bauer, P. J., Dikmen, S. S., Heaton, R. K., Mungas, D., Slotkin, J., & Beaumont, J. L.
- Affiliations
- Emory University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Bauer, Patricia J
- Venue
- Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2013-08
- Volume
- 78
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 34-48
- ISSN
- 0037-976X (ISSN-L)
- 1540-5834
- PMC
- PMC3950959
- OpenAlex
- W2123966365
- Cited by
- 128
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 25 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 4.06
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Aging (P30AG010129, R01AG010220)
- National Institute of Mental Health (P30MH062512)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Functions and Memory
- Keywords
- episodic memory, NIH Toolbox, cognitive assessment, test-retest reliability, construct validity, age-related cognitive change, children
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Brain, Child, Child, Preschool, Humans, Middle Aged, National Institutes of Health (U.S.), Neuropsychological Tests, United States, Young Adult, Memory, Episodic
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