Brain and Culture in Europe: Development of an European Domain Specific Computerized Battery for Cross-Cultural Neurocognitive Assessment

Project Information

EMBRACED

Grant agreement ID: 661528

DOI 10.3030/661528

Closed project

EC signature date 18 March 2015

Start date 1 June 2015

End date 31 May 2018

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost € 257 191,20

EU contribution € 257 191,20

Coordinated by

UNIVERSIDAD DE GRANADA
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - EMBRACED (Brain and Culture in Europe: Development of an European Domain Specific Computerized Battery for Cross-Cultural Neurocognitive Assessment)

Reporting period: 2017-06-01 to 2018-05-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The European Union (UE) is constituted by citizens from diverse cultures and countries. This has a great impact on the assessment of different psychological and neurological functions in different cultural populations. The influence of culture on the scores of different psychological tests is so important that the DSM-5, the diagnostic guidelines for psychiatric and psychological disorders, stated that these instruments must be culturally adapted. Before the development of the EMBRACED battery, there was no set of psychological tests that could account for cultural differences that could be used in different countries in Europe.

The EMBRACED project was created with the aim of developing a new and culturally adapted computerized neuropsychological battery for the assessment of European adults. This instrument fills in the gap for a tool that can be used regardless of the country of origin and that improves the diagnosis of different disorders by incorporating cultural factors.

The objectives are:

- At a basic science level, EMBRACED provides a tool for the field of cultural neuroscience, allowing for a comprehensive analysis of the cultural factors affecting cognitive performance.
- In research, it can be used to combine samples from different countries, thus increasing sample size and improving statistical power. Also, it permits making valuable comparisons between groups from different countries or cultural groups.
- In the clinical field, EMBRACED improves diagnosis, reducing the risk of false positives, especially in the migrating groups and in the elderly populations. It thus improves the care provided to society at large, which is one of the H2020 priority research lines included in the “Health, Demographic Change, and Wellbeing” challenge.

As far as we know, EMBRACED is the first culturally adapted neuropsychological battery, not only in Europe but also in the rest of the world.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

To achieve the project’s goals, the following work was performed:
Objective 1. To develop the EMBRACED battery. The neurocognitive battery was designed and programmed. It is fully operational both in English and in Spanish, and its adaptation to other European countries and languages is ongoing. The EMBRACED battery includes a comprehensive sociodemographic and cultural questionnaire and a total of 16 psychological tasks. A comprehensive literature review was performed to develop them all. All questions in the form and all the psychological tasks were programmed for iOS and to be administered in an iPad. A full beta version was tested in a pilot study and these data were used for the battery tune-up that.
Objective 2.- To obtain EMBRACED standardization data in different European countries and groups. Networking activities were initiated since the start of the project. As part of these activities, the research team participated in diverse conferences and meetings with international attendees and spoke about the EMBRACED project, its impact, and the opportunities for collaboration. The project has now teams actively working in Spain, Portugal, Poland, Germany, and Italy. Other groups worldwide have joined the project including Palestine, Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala, Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, and Turkey. All partners have been trained in all aspects of the battery translation and administration, as well as in other scientific processes such as ethical procedures, recruitment, data collection, and data management. Data collection for the standardization in target European countries, and for the battery validation in patients has been initiated. The global database for the project, including all sociodemographic, cultural and psychological variables, was created and tested, and after cleaning and preparing it, preliminary analyses were performed and reported.
OVERVIEW OF RESULTS
The EMBRACED battery has shown to be:
1) Reliable and easy to administer: the software application works consistently and all data collected from participants is accurately and easily stored. The administration is easy for both the researchers and the participants. Its administration requires no specific training for the clinicians. It also proved to be comfortable for participants, and thus, for future patients. This proves that objective 1 has been attained.
2) Sensitive to cultural differences. Preliminary results showed that different cultural groups (Hispanics, non-Hispanics, and Spaniards so far analyzed) performed differently in many of the tasks included in the EMBRACED battery. This shows that objective 2 of the project has been attained.
EXPLOITATION AND DISSEMINATION
Dissemination activities planned include scientific publications in open access journals as well as more generalist communications aimed at the public in general. Also, the maintenance of the dedicated website and social media accounts will provide information about the project worldwide. The PI, as well as the rest of the core team, will continue to participate in conferences and exhibitions. The EMBRACED battery has been registered on the Safe Creative Copyright Registry to prevent unauthorized changes to the software.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The EMBRACED battery was conceived as the first culturally adapted neuropsychological battery in Europe, and in the world. Thanks to the feedback received in the past years it is clear now that the EMBRACED project will definitely have far more impact than what was originally foreseen. For instance, this project was initially planned to cover around 80% of the European population, but the interest shown by many other EU and non-EU countries inclines us to believe that the percentage of the population that will be benefited is much larger. Thus, this project will make an excellent use of public money, which is one of the key initiatives in “Innovation Union” strategy.

Data provided by the EMBRACED project on the effects of culture on psychological performance in different cultural groups is unprecedented. The discovery of cultural factors affecting psychological performance, and the availability of the instrument for its use in multicenter studies, for the unification of samples across countries to gain statistical power, and for relevant group comparisons will move the field of cultural neuroscience a huge step forward.

EMBRACED battery will become a key clinical instrument for the assessment of any condition involving cognitive deterioration, as recommended by the DSM-5. Thus, It will enhance diagnosis, which is one of 2020 priority research lines included in the “Health, demographic change and wellbeing” challenge and will help improving care for elderly population, a priority highlighted in H2020.

Given that it is easily translated and adapted to different languages and cultures, EMBRACED battery will help in the assessment of migrating groups throughout Europe and will facilitate embracing cultural differences and creating public policies that respect interethnic differences in Europe.

This project strengthens Europe´s knowledge base and positions Europe at the forefront of the field of cultural neuroscience.