ReacStick: Evaluating Executive Function Independent From Level of Education.
Maura Lane, Katharine Seagly, Emily M Briceño and 2 others
PMID 41223448WHAT IT FOUND
ReacStick accuracy scores were unaffected by education level, unlike Trail Making Test B.
This suggests ReacStick may offer a less biased way to screen executive function in adults with lower literacy or fewer years of schooling.
Key findings
01Trail Making Test B completion times were significantly associated with years of education, whereas ReacStick accuracy measures were not.
02In multivariate models, education accounted for 5.3% of the variance in Trail Making Test B performance but only 0.6% in ReacStick simple reaction time.
03Participants with 12 or fewer years of education took significantly longer to complete Trail Making Test B than those with more education, but no such difference was seen for ReacStick measures.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study is a secondary analysis without a prior formal power analysis. Data came from two different sites without determining inter-rater reliability for the specific examiners. Participants were only English-speaking, limiting generalizability to other linguistic groups. Potential covariates such as anxiety, fatigue, or emotional state were not assessed, which could influence test performance. Only Trail Making Test B was used as the standard neuropsychological comparison; other tests might behave differently.
Declared interests
One author's salary and ReacStick components were funded by Newman Family Foundation Funds, a gift fund for another author's academic activities. No other competing interests were declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume ReacStick is fully independent of education. Simple reaction time still showed a small but statistically significant association with education in the multivariate model, although the effect size was very small compared to Trail Making Test B.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →