Was the COVID-19 Pandemic Associated with Gender Disparities in Authorship of Manuscripts Submitted to Clinical Neuropsychology Journals?

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated gender disparities in some academic disciplines. This study examined the association of the pandemic with gender authorship disparities in clinical neuropsychology (CN) journals. Method: Author bylines of 1,018 initial manuscript submissions to four major CN journals from March 15 through September 15 of both 2019 and 2020 were coded for binary gender. Additionally, authorship of 40 articles published on pandemic-related topics (COVID-19, teleneuropsychology) across nine CN journals were coded for binary gender. Results: Initial submissions to these four CN journals increased during the pandemic (+27.2%), with comparable increases in total number of authors coded as either women (+23.0%) or men (+25.4%). Neither the average percentage of women on manuscript bylines nor the proportion of women who were lead and/or corresponding authors differed significantly across time. Moreover, the representation of women as authors of pandemic-related articles did not differ from expected frequencies in the field. Conclusions: Findings suggest that representation of women as authors of peer-reviewed manuscript submissions to some CN journals did not change during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Future studies might examine how risk and protective factors may have influenced individual differences in scientific productivity during the pandemic.

Evidence of the validity of a novel version of the computerized cognitive screening battery CompCog

ABSTRACT Although the availability of the computer-based assessment has increased over the years, neuropsychology has not carried out a significant paradigm shift since the personal computer’s popularization in the 1980s. To keep up with the technological advances of healthcare and neuroscience in general, more efforts must be made in the field of clinical neuropsychology to develop and validate new and more technology-based instruments, especially considering new variables and paradigms when compared to paper and pencil tests. Objective: This study’s objective was to produce concurrent validity evidence of the novel version of the computerized cognitive screening battery CompCog. Methods: Participants performed a traditional paper and pencil neuropsychological testing session and another session where CompCog was administrated. The data of a total of 50 young adult college students were used in the analyses. Results: Results have shown moderate and strong correlations between CompCog’s tasks and their equivalents considering paper and pencil tests. Items clustered in agreement with the subtest division in a principal component analysis. Conclusions: The findings suggest that CompCog is valid for measuring the cognitive processes its tasks intend to evaluate.

How immersive virtual reality methods may meet the criteria of the National Academy of Neuropsychology and American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology: A software review of the Virtual Reality Everyday Assessment Lab (VR-EAL)

Clinical tools involving immersive virtual reality (VR) may bring several advantages to cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology. However, there are some technical and methodological pitfalls. The American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology (AACN) and the National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN) raised 8 key issues pertaining to Computerized Neuropsychological Assessment Devices. These issues pertain to: (1) the safety and effectivity; (2) the identity of the end-user; (3) the technical hardware and software features; (4) privacy and data security; (5) the psychometric properties; (6) examinee issues; (7) the use of reporting services; and (8) the reliability of the responses and results. The VR Everyday Assessment Lab (VR-EAL) is the first immersive VR neuropsychological battery with enhanced ecological validity for the assessment of everyday cognitive functions by offering a pleasant testing experience without inducing cybersickness. The VR-EAL meets the criteria of the NAN and AACN, addresses the methodological pitfalls, and brings advantages for neuropsychological testing. However, there are still shortcomings of the VR-EAL, which should be addressed. Future iterations should strive to improve the embodiment illusion in VR-EAL and the creation of an open access VR software library should be attempted. The discussed studies demonstrate the utility of VR methods in cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology.

The Value of Bayesian Methods for Accurate and Efficient Neuropsychological Assessment

Objective: Clinical neuropsychology has been slow in adopting novelties in psychometrics, statistics, and technology. Researchers have indicated that the stationary nature of clinical neuropsychology endangers its evidence-based character. In addition to a technological crisis, there may be a statistical crisis affecting clinical neuropsychology. That is, the frequentist null hypothesis significance testing framework remains the dominant approach in clinical practice, despite a recent surge in critique on this framework. While the Bayesian framework has been put forward as a viable alternative in psychology in general, the possibilities it offers to clinical neuropsychology have not received much attention. Method: In the current position paper, we discuss and reflect on the value of Bayesian methods for the advancement of evidence-based clinical neuropsychology. Results: We aim to familiarize clinical neuropsychologists and neuropsychological researchers to Bayesian methods of inference and provide a clear rationale for why these methods are valuable for clinical neuropsychology. Conclusion: We argue that Bayesian methods allow for a more intuitive answer to our diagnostic questions and form a more solid foundation for sequential and adaptive diagnostic testing, representing uncertainty about patients’ observed test scores and cognitive modeling of test results.

A-188 Starting Well: Creating Training Opportunities for Graduate Students Interested in Neuropsychological Assessment

Objective Practicum experiences are critical to internship readiness. While established guidelines for practicum training in clinical neuropsychology exist, the application of such guidelines across training sites has received little attention. The objective of this study is to compare practicum training models across different sites. Methods We surveyed training supervisors regarding the cost and benefit of training practicum students in their setting. Results Despite wide variability across settings, results indicated that on average, practicum sites spent around 6 hours per week in direct active training and onboarding during the first 1–3 months of the training year. After 3–4 months, the hours spent on supervision decreased to about 1–2 hours of individual supervision and 1–2 hours of group supervision per week. By the 8th month, each practicum student provided the clinic with approximately 36 hours of direct service (considered an administrative benefit to the clinic). Conclusion Training practicum students is a labor of love, with overall net administrative benefits to the clinic. An advantage was seen in settings with multiple trainees, trainees at multiple levels, and tiered supervision models with access to diverse didactic experiences.

Abstracts from the 41st Annual National Academy of Neuropsychology Conference

The abstracts published in this special edition are provided as a service to the membership of the National Academy of Neuropsychology, the conference attendees, and the field of clinical neuropsychology. Abstracts in this issue have been reviewed by the Poster Committee for the 41st Annual Conference of the National Academy of Neuropsychology. They have not undergone the standard peer-reviewed process for papers published in Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology. The Conference Poster Chair and the Editor-in-Chief of Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology request that the following method be used in citing published abstracts based upon a poster presentation at the Annual Conference of the National Academy of Neuropsychology. Author 1 & Author 2 (2021) [Abstract published in Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, vol, page number]. Abstract Title. Based upon poster presented at the 41st Annual Conference of the National Academy of Neuropsychology. National Academy of Neuropsychology Abstracts from the 41st Annual Conference November 10–13, 2021. Conference Abstracts Accepted under the Guest Editorship of Victoria C. Merritt, Ph.D., Poster Chair. Members of the 2021 NAN Poster Program Review Committee: Ana Arenivas Patrick Armistead-Jehle Jacques Arrieux John Bernstein Veronica Burton Noelle Carlozzi Wesley Cole Nathan Cook Douglas Cooper Jeremy Davis Mark Ettenhofer Laura Grande Mirjana Ivanisevic Brian Ivins Colleen Jackson Mi-Yeoung Jo Katherine Kane Justin Karr Sahra Kim Sara Lippa Ashlee Loughan Roy Martin Victoria Merritt Audrina Mullane Kevin O′ Brien Brett Parmenter Surabhi Patwardhan Russell Pella Summer Rolin Karen Sullivan Matthew Thornton Amery Treble-Barna Geoffrey Tremont Dede Ukueberuwa Michael Williams Vanessa Williams Kristin Wilmoth Steven Woods