Study protocol: associations between dietary patterns, cognitive function and metabolic syndrome in older adults – a cross-sectional study

Table 2 The COMPASS^a battery of assessments

Cognitive Domain	Definition	Test
Mood	Measurement of subjective feelings	Bond and Lader Mood Scales
Attention and vigilance	Attention - ability to concentrate on selected aspects of the environment while ignoring other stimuli	Simple reaction time
		Choice reaction time
		Digit vigilance task
	Vigilance - ability to maintain attention and alertness over time	Digit vigilance task
Executive function	Co-ordination of cognitive responses – sub-serves planning, initiating and inhibiting actions, cognitive flexibility, abstract thinking and rule acquisition	Stroop test
Episodic memory	Ability to retain memories that can be consciously recorded e.g. facts, items, events, faces	Immediate and delayed word recall
		Delayed word recognition
		Delayed picture recognition
Working memory	Ability to hold information in mind while carrying out more complex cognitive processes	Corsi blocks
Location learning	Assesses visuo-spatial memory	Computerised location learning
Location learning	Assesses visuo-spatial memory	Computerised location recall

^aComputerised Mental Performance Assessment System (COMPASS-Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK)

ISSN: 1471-2458