Easy cognition test?

Just get a deck of cards and play the 'memory' game where they are all
turned upside down and you have to choose pairs. Do this every night and
time yourself. Compare the time it takes on evenings when you fast to other
evenings.

j
"Ignoramus16578" wrote in message
...
I would like to find some easy 5-10 minute cognition test that would
test some basic memory skills, and that could be repeated without
effect of learning (because I want to try it a few times). The reason
for it is that I fast every thursday and am curious if at the end of
my fasting period my memory or other cognitive abilities are in any
way impaired. Something web based would be great. Again, the test I am
looking for needs to be repeatable and therefore have randomly
generated questions and not the same questions every time I test. Any
suggestions?

Hey, I hadn't thought about that game for years. We used to play it
when I was a kid. Over here it's called pelmanism. In fact, ig. I
did a quick google for pelmanism and found an online version of the
game straight away.

janice
233/177/133

On Thu, 11 Mar 2004 10:01:47 -0600, "Julianne"
wrote:

Just get a deck of cards and play the 'memory' game where they are all
turned upside down and you have to choose pairs. Do this every night and
time yourself. Compare the time it takes on evenings when you fast to other
evenings.

j
"Ignoramus16578" wrote in message
...
I would like to find some easy 5-10 minute cognition test that would
test some basic memory skills, and that could be repeated without
effect of learning (because I want to try it a few times). The reason
for it is that I fast every thursday and am curious if at the end of
my fasting period my memory or other cognitive abilities are in any
way impaired. Something web based would be great. Again, the test I am
looking for needs to be repeatable and therefore have randomly
generated questions and not the same questions every time I test. Any
suggestions?

"Ignoramus16578" wrote in message
...
In article Q304c.14943$PY.12371@lakeread05, Julianne wrote:
Just get a deck of cards and play the 'memory' game where they are all
turned upside down and you have to choose pairs. Do this every night
and
time yourself. Compare the time it takes on evenings when you fast to
other
evenings.

I am not familiar with this game, but it sounds like a good idea.

i

As an aside, I do a crossword every day. It has a timer in the corner and I
notice that if I exercise before I do the puzzle, my time is much shorter -
11 or so minutes as opposed to when I don't exercise - 14 - 17 minutes.
Lots of variables but the overall trend is that when I exercise, the puzzle
seems much easier.

j

j
"Ignoramus16578" wrote in message
...
I would like to find some easy 5-10 minute cognition test that would
test some basic memory skills, and that could be repeated without
effect of learning (because I want to try it a few times). The reason
for it is that I fast every thursday and am curious if at the end of
my fasting period my memory or other cognitive abilities are in any
way impaired. Something web based would be great. Again, the test I am
looking for needs to be repeatable and therefore have randomly
generated questions and not the same questions every time I test. Any
suggestions?

Try a MMSE (mini mental-state exam).

Darryl.


On 11 Mar 2004 14:51:16 GMT, Ignoramus16578
wrote:

I would like to find some easy 5-10 minute cognition test that would
test some basic memory skills, and that could be repeated without
effect of learning (because I want to try it a few times). The reason
for it is that I fast every thursday and am curious if at the end of
my fasting period my memory or other cognitive abilities are in any
way impaired. Something web based would be great. Again, the test I am
looking for needs to be repeatable and therefore have randomly
generated questions and not the same questions every time I test. Any
suggestions?

Try a MMSE (mini mental-state exam).

LOL, How familiar are you with the questions Darryl?

Familiar enough to know that orientation to time and place are 10
points and by definition its use is not limited to dementias. ;-)
It's tonque-in-cheek even though long-term dietary restriction was
recently shown to negatively affect cognition in rats.

I doubt ignoramus will go into a state of dementia or delerium from a day of
fasting! 8 out of 30 points are just knowing time and place! 2 more points
for naming common objects, etc...

Darryl.
p.s., registration is 3.

Ignoramus16578 wrote or quoted:

I would like to find some easy 5-10 minute cognition test that would
test some basic memory skills, and that could be repeated without
effect of learning (because I want to try it a few times). The reason
for it is that I fast every thursday and am curious if at the end of
my fasting period my memory or other cognitive abilities are in any
way impaired. Something web based would be great. Again, the test I am
looking for needs to be repeatable and therefore have randomly
generated questions and not the same questions every time I test. Any
suggestions?

Two posts makes a connection ;-)

The "Concentration" game seems like a reasonable suggestion to me.

http://www.hexadyne.com/Games/Applet...entration.html

....has that as an applet.

Consider also something like "Simon" - the colour/sound sequence
learning game.

http://www.ability.org.uk/simon.htm

....has Simon as an applet.

Something similar using words might be a good idea as well - since verbal
memory is probably different stuff.

If you can solve Rubik's cube, perhaps time yourself doing it a few
times.

Not entirely cognitive - but balance tests are simple and easy - e.g.
stand on one leg with your eyes closed and time yourself.

If you can juggle there's quite a few good tests of various bits of
your brain you can do in that domain as well.

Lastly,

http://directory.google.com/Top/Scie...ence/IQ_Tests/

....has some useful-looking links.

Not all are IQ-based - for example I clicked through to:

http://www.psychtests.com/tests/alltests.html

....where there are a /lot/ of tests.
--
__________
|im |yler http://timtyler.org/ Remove lock to reply.

Eat enough to keep your brain and your nether regions happy and the studies
be dammed!

Yes. Although we're going to need a bridge over that dam sooner
rather than later. Perhaps in the form of resveratrol conjugates.
Perhaps not.

;-)

/Darryl drawing overlapping pentagons.

On 11 Mar 2004 14:51:16 GMT, Ignoramus16578
wrote:

I would like to find some easy 5-10 minute cognition test that would
test some basic memory skills, and that could be repeated without
effect of learning (because I want to try it a few times). The reason
for it is that I fast every thursday and am curious if at the end of
my fasting period my memory or other cognitive abilities are in any
way impaired. Something web based would be great. Again, the test I am
looking for needs to be repeatable and therefore have randomly
generated questions and not the same questions every time I test. Any
suggestions?

No additional suggestions for quizzes, but I want to note that you
should be sure to keep other possibly-relevant factors equal, such as
amount of sleep and consumption of caffeine. Julianne also notes that
exercise might be a relevant factor.

Chris

About calorie restriction:
If the studies I've been seeing lately are applicable to humans, that means
we'll live longer free of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and such...but,
OTOH, we are going to be dumber and sexually dysfunctional.
Conclusion:

As far as I know, CR does not make animals dumber.

Neurobiol. Aging. 25 (2004) 325-332 says "dietary restriction is
beneficial for longevity but has negative effects on the performance
of cognitive tasks...". Although someone will point out that the rats
were kept at a stringent 280 g.

In sci.life-extension Darryl wrote or quoted:

As far as I know, CR does not make animals dumber.

Neurobiol. Aging. 25 (2004) 325-332 says "dietary restriction is
beneficial for longevity but has negative effects on the performance
of cognitive tasks...". Although someone will point out that the rats
were kept at a stringent 280 g.

....and nobody seems to know if "*dietary* restriction" means that the
animals were malnourished.

It is possible that CR could adversely affects performance of mental tasks.
In rodents it has been reported to improve some metrics and worsen others.

It does seem to stem age-related cognitive decline, though - e.g.:

``Effect of life-long hypocaloric diet on age-related changes in motor and
cognitive behavior in a rat population.''

- http://calorierestriction.org/pmid/?n=2381501

``Deterioration of spatial and nonspatial reference and working memory in
aged rats: protective effect of life-long calorie restriction.''

- http://calorierestriction.org/pmid/?n=1625765
--
__________
|im |yler http://timtyler.org/ Remove lock to reply.