How tablet-based tests can reveal Mental Fatigue through dexterity

Todays insights is drawn from the Scientific Article:
A novel tablet-based application for assessment of manual dexterity and its components: a reliability and validity study in healthy subjects

What we will cover today:

• Takeaways:

• Let’s learn some more about this study:

• What they did:

• What the authors found out:

• What can we learn from this study?

• Quick Answers to Your Top of Mind Questions 🙋‍♂️

Takeaways:

👉 Use fine motor tasks to monitor mental fatigue: Tracking performance on tasks that involve precise finger movements, like tapping and line-tracking, may help identify when your mental energy is starting to decline. The study shows that declines in reaction time and accuracy, particularly in older participants, are linked to reduced dexterity—the skillful use of hands and fingers—which could signal mental fatigue or reduced cognitive sharpness, much like the effects of stress.

👉 Dexterity tasks can complement traditional stress measures: Combining tablet-based dexterity tasks with stress assessments (like the mental hyperactivity questionnaire) could provide a more complete picture of how stress is affecting both your mental and physical performance.

👉 Age-related decline in dexterity is linked to mental energy: The study shows that older participants had slower reaction times and made more errors, suggesting that age-related changes in motor skills might also reflect shifts in cognitive energy or attention.

Let’s learn some more about this study:

_{Disclaimer: This summary is based on the article “A novel tablet-based application for assessment of manual dexterity and its components: a reliability and validity study in healthy subjects” by Ayah Rabah, Quentin Le Boterff, Loïc Carmen, Narjes Bendjemaa, Maxime Térémetz, Lucile Dupin, Macarena Cuenca, Jean-Louis Mas, Marie-Odile Krebs, Marc A Maier & Påvel G. Lindberg and aims to provide key takeaways and a condensed overview of its content. While the essence is drawn from the original article, some parts have been simplified or rephrased to enhance understanding. Please note that we at, OptiMindInsights or any other potential writers or contributors to our summaries, do not accept responsibility for any consequences arising from the use of this summary. The information provided should not be considered a substitute for personal research or professional advice. Readers are encouraged to consult the original article for detailed insights and references. The summary does not include references, but they can typically be found within the original publication. Always exercise due diligence and consider your unique circumstances before applying any information in your personal or professional life. We refer to the creative commons for reproducibility rights.}

This study introduces five tablet-based tasks designed to assess different components of manual dexterity, aiming to test their reliability and validity in healthy participants. The tasks include finger recognition, rhythm tapping, multi-finger tapping, sequence tapping, and line-tracking, each targeting specific aspects of dexterity, such as finger independence, reaction time, and motor sequence memorization. 

Manual dexterity refers to the ability to skillfully coordinate hand and finger movements, which is crucial for performing precise tasks like writing, typing, or manipulating small objects. It plays a key role in daily activities, and its decline, commonly associated with aging or neurological disorders, can significantly reduce autonomy. Traditional dexterity tests like the Box and Block Test (BBT) and the Moberg Pick-Up Test (MPUT) often focus on gross motor skills, missing finer elements such as independent finger movements and timing.

This research was made to try to fill a gap in the litterature by providing a more detailed assessment using tablet-based technology. To do this, the authors used a dual-cohort approach. The first cohort (34 participants) assessed inter-rater reliability, which checks whether different testers get consistent results when participants complete the same tasks. The second cohort (54 participants) tested validity, which means verifying if the tablet tasks accurately measure what they’re supposed to. This was done by comparing the tablet results with participants’ ages, traditional dexterity tests, and a finger force-sensor device.

The findings suggest that these tasks could serve as reliable, detailed tools to assess dexterity, potentially complementing or even surpassing conventional methods in capturing fine motor abilities.

What they did:

This study involved two groups of healthy participants to test the reliability and validity of the tablet-based tasks. Although the tasks were performed on a tablet, raters (trained testers) were involved to guide participants through the tasks and ensure they followed instructions correctly.

The raters also recorded the results, making sure that the data collected was consistent and unbiased. The first group, consisting of 34 participants, completed the tasks twice, each time supervised by a different rater. This allowed the researchers to assess inter-rater reliability, ensuring the results remained consistent no matter who was overseeing the task.

The second group, composed of 54 participants, was used to test the validity of the tasks. Validity measures whether the tablet tasks are accurately assessing manual dexterity. This was tested by comparing the tablet results with three factors: (1) participants’ age (since dexterity typically declines with age), (2) traditional dexterity tests like the Box and Block Test (BBT) and Moberg Pick-Up Test (MPUT), and (3) a finger force-sensor device, which measures the strength and control of finger movements.

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The five tablet-based tasks were designed to measure key components of manual dexterity:

1. Finger recognition task: Participants tapped the finger shown on a virtual hand displayed in different positions, testing their ability to mentally rotate and identify fingers.

2. Rhythm tapping task: Participants tapped their fingers at set rhythms (1, 2, or 3 taps per second) with and without an audio cue, measuring timing and rhythm control.

3. Multi-finger tapping task: Assessed participants' ability to move fingers independently by asking them to tap either one or two fingers at a time in response to visual prompts.

4. Sequence tapping task: Participants memorized and performed a five-finger tap sequence, first with the help of visual cues, and then from memory, testing both motor sequence learning and recall.

5. Line-tracking task: Participants used their finger to follow a moving line on the screen, with and without a distracting mental task (simple arithmetic), measuring their speed, accuracy, and ability to divide attention.

For each task, various performance metrics were collected, including reaction times, correct responses, unwanted finger movements, and tracking errors. Relative reliability was calculated using intra-class correlation (ICC) to see how well the results matched across different testers. Absolute reliability, or how much the results varied between measurements, was measured using the standard error of measurement (SEM).

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