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Nutrition and cognition: assessing cognitive abilities in children and young people

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Abstract

Although studying the effects of diet on cognitive function in children is of great interest to nutritionists, many have not received the formal training in the principles and practice of assessment necessary to properly evaluate research studies or to design and conduct research themselves. This paper is aimed at such an audience and assumes little prior knowledge of the field. A short description of neural development in childhood is followed by a discussion of important principles of assessment. A level of assessment approach is used to present a selection of widely used cognitive tests organized by cognitive domain and age group. Practical information about the tests is presented in tabular form and a list of useful websites is included.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the reviewers Maureen M. Black and Bonnie Kaplan for their useful comments and discussions. This work was commissioned by the Nutrition and Mental Performance Task Force of the European branch of the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI Europe). Industry members of this task force are Barilla G. & R. Fratelli, Coca-Cola European Union Group, DSM, Groupe Danone, Kraft Foods, Nestlé, Südzucker/BENEO Group, Unilever and Wild Flavors. For further information about ILSI Europe, please call +32-2-771.00.14 or email: info@ilsieurope.be. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of ILSI Europe.

Conflict of interestsThe authors have no financial or other interests that might conflict with the views expressed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. MRC Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, Institute of Child Health, University College London Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London, WC1N 1EH, UK

    E. Isaacs

  2. Centre for Childhood, Development and Learning. Faculty of Education and Language Studies, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK

    J. Oates

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  1. E. Isaacs
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ILSI Europe a.i.s.b.l.

Appendices

Appendix 1

Appendix 1 presents a list of widely used tests that are available in different European languages (all available in English) (Table 1).

Table 1 Table of test availability in different European languages for some widely used tests (all available in English)
Full size table

Appendix 2

Appendix 2 lists all tests described in the text in the order in which they appear in the text, i.e., grouped by levels. Summary information is given for each (Table 2).

Table 2 Table of tests referred to in the text, in the order in which they appear
Full size table

Appendix 3: Notes on Websites

The British Psychological Society operates a website that includes details of a wide range of tests and gives access to reviews of them, along with discussion of a range of issues associated with psychological testing. We have also included a list of some major test suppliers’ websites; you can search the websites for specific tests by name. Some suppliers require professional eligibility and registration for buying certain tests, so that they may only be available for psychologists, speech therapists, etc., but this information will be available on the website. There are many smaller suppliers so we hope this list is useful, but it cannot be exhaustive and an internet search engine will prove invaluable.

(a) Weblink to British Psychological Society website for psychological testing:

http://www.psychtesting.org.uk/

(b) Weblinks to test suppliers:

Association of Test Publishers http://www.testpublishers.org/memserv.htm

Cambridge Cognition (CANTAB) http://www.cantabeclipse.com

Cognitive Drug Research (CDR) http://www.cognitivedrugresearch.com

Educational and Industrial Testing Service http://www.edits.net

ERIC Test Publisher Directory http://buros.unl.edu/buros/jsp/search.jsp

Harcourt Assessment http://harcourtassessment.com

nferNELSON http://www.nfer-nelson.co.uk

Pearson Assessments http://ags.pearsonassessments.com/

Pro-Ed, Inc. http://www.proedinc.com

Psychological Assessment Resources Inc. http://www.parinc.com

Taskmaster http://www.taskmasteronline.co.uk

Western Psychological Services http://www.wpspublish.com

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Isaacs, E., Oates, J. & ILSI Europe a.i.s.b.l.. Nutrition and cognition: assessing cognitive abilities in children and young people. Eur J Nutr 47 (Suppl 3), 4–24 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-008-3002-y

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