Alzheimer's Prediction May Be Found in Writing Tests

[Zorro]

IBM researchers trained artificial intelligence to pick up hints of changes in language ahead of the onset of neurological diseases.

Is it possible to predict who will develop Alzheimer’s disease simply by looking at writing patterns years before there are symptoms?

According to a new study by IBM researchers, the answer is yes.

And, they and others say that Alzheimer’s is just the beginning. People with a wide variety of neurological illnesses have distinctive language patterns that, investigators suspect, may serve as early warning signs of their diseases.

For the Alzheimer’s study, the researchers looked at a group of 80 men and women in their 80s — half had Alzheimer’s and the others did not. But, seven and a half years earlier, all had been cognitively normal.

The men and women were participants in the Framingham Heart Study, a long-running federal research effort that requires regular physical and cognitive tests. As part of it, they took a writing test before any of them had developed Alzheimer’s that asks subjects to describe a drawing of a boy standing on an unsteady stool and reaching for a cookie jar on a high shelf while a woman, her back to him, is oblivious to an overflowing sink.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/01/health/alzheimers-prediction-speech.html

This is an intriguing report.

[jmbar2]

1. They'll have to adapt this for people who text a lot

Most of my texts would qualify as Alzheimers.

[hlthe2b]

9. That was my immediate thought. Were the instructions clear in establishing an expectation

that a narrative sample of writing was to be provided, rather than mere descriptions of the drawings?

Honestly, I DO wonder how many otherwise normal adults (especially younger adults) would provide these bullet point type descriptions, much as they do in tweets and text messages.

[LazySusanNot]

2. More from the article for exposure...

“The researchers examined the subjects’ word usage with an artificial intelligence program that looked for subtle differences in language. It identified one group of subjects who were more repetitive in their word usage at that earlier time when all of them were cognitively normal. These subjects also made errors, such as spelling words wrong or inappropriately capitalizing them, and they used telegraphic language, meaning language that has a simple grammatical structure and is missing subjects and words like “the,” “is” and “are.”

“The members of that group turned out to be the people who developed Alzheimer’s disease”.

Thanks for posting this. Very interesting indeed!

[Staph]

4. Inappropriately capitalizing words?

Hmmmm! Who does that remind of?

[LazySusanNot]

6. Well, my first thought was that you might be referring to me

Last edited Mon Feb 1, 2021, 03:29 PM - Edit history (1)

since I find myself doing that "capitalizing" thing more often. Not likely since we don't know each other that well...yet. LOL

I think I know who you might be talking about though. Does this person cheat at golf (which in my opinion should be a Capital Crime) and has he recently moved to get away from a Toxic Relationship?

[Staph]

8. Excellent guess!

Are we playing Twenty Questions? (or my favorite, related game, Botticelli!)

[LazySusanNot]

11. One more question

I'm wondering here if Donny Oat-Head may have been suffering from Dementia, which could explain much of who he is and what he has done? Counting down......three......two.....one.

Never mind. Stupid question. Correct answer still is that he did all this because he's a worthless piece of shit.

I feel better. Thank you.

[Thekaspervote]

10. Repeating, errors, can't spell..the deposed idiot king does all that!!

[LazySusanNot]

13. Greetings!

Yes he does and in hindsight now this study kind of fits with his behavior.

New here and trying to make it a point to respond to everyone who responds to me.
See my response #11 above if you want to know what I think the real problem might be.
Thank you!!!

[jmbar2]

14. Then I think my autocorrect has Alzheimer's.

[LazySusanNot]

15. That's great.

I'm known more for my smile rather than my laugh. That one made me laugh.

[mopinko]

3. i have a mild case of ms. went undiagnosed for 18 yrs.

it's right there in my handwriting fersher.

[central scrutinizer]

5. What an important research study

Started in 1948, the longitudinal Framingham study has produced incredible health data.

[keithbvadu2]

7. To most of my personal messages to friends, I usually ignore capitals.

To most of my personal messages to friends, I usually ignore capitals.

But that's by choice.

Does lazy indicate Alzheimer's?

[SunSeeker]

12. I am fastidious about proper capitalization, grammar and punctuation, even when texting.

I feared it was OCD. Now I feel better about myself.

[keithbvadu2]

16. We cheapskates don't want to wear out the shift key prematurely.

We cheapskates don't want to wear out the shift key prematurely.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[SunSeeker]

17. LOL