Dr. Jacquelyn Berry
Dr. Jacquelyn Berry is a cognitive scientist and former Fulbright U.S. Scholar who has pioneered new experimental psychology techniques and methods in an Egyptian population. Dr. Berry studies learning, cognition, and human-computer interaction. She is the first person of color to graduate with a doctorate in cognitive psychology from the University at Albany in New York and prior to that she attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where she earned her BSc, MBA, and MSc degrees. After studying as a post-doctoral researcher in learning and expertise, Jackie joined The American University in Cairo as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar in 2019-20. During her award year, she used video games to research interface switching in Arabic-English bilinguals. Her motivational book, Find Your Carrot, became a bestseller on Amazon in 2021 and has been translated into Arabic. Dr. Berry recently returned to AUC as a permanent faculty member and is now studying cognitive function in bilinguals and older persons. She is a founding member of AI for Afrika and spoke before the U.N. about her work on technology and language. Since joining AUC’s psychology department of full time, Dr. Berry opened the first experimental psychology laboratory in Egypt. The laboratory has collected hundreds of hours of research data across multiple experiments and platforms including incorporating eye-tracking and artificial intelligence. Dr. Berry recently began conducting research on astronaut health and performance to determine how cognition and decision-making can be supported during Space walks. Dr. Berry created the GameChanger Research application, a mobile application that enables all types of psychological research to be conducted via mobile phone in English and Arabic. Jackie is also a wife and mom and loves spending time with her family when she isn't working. For more information visit jacquelynhberry.com.
Cognitive Screening and Assessment with the MoCA and MoCA XpressO
Background: There are three to five million known cases of dementia in Egypt1 with the number of cases continuing to grow rapidly. However, with the proper screening tools pre-dementia cognitive impairment can be detected early and appropriate interventions can delay onset. One problem is that most Arab countries lack screening tools that have been adapted to their culture and language and most of the western-made tools have not been validated and/or normed in Arabic-speakers. Egypt is the most populus Arab country with 110 million citizens, but a review of 384 neuropsychological studies in the Arab world, 45% from Egypt, found nearly half lacked cognitive tests adhering to international psychological measurement standards and only 17% of Egyptian studies included validation, norming, or both.2 This lack of appropriate screening measures invariably leads to misdiagnoses.
Purpose: In this workshop we will explain how to properly conduct cognitive assessments for clients suspected of cognitive impairment using the MoCA and MoCA XpressO tests. The highly popular Montreal Cognitive Assessment is used worldwide and has been translated into Arabic.3 The MoCA XpressO is a culturally-neutral cognitive assessment meant to be self-administered on a mobile device. The workshop will explain our efforts to translate the XpressO into Arabic and our current study plan to validate it among Egyptian Arabic speakers. The goal of the workshop is for participants to come away with an understanding of the issues relevant to screening for cognitive impairment in Arabic-speakers and to learn about new cognitive screening tools that are now being culturally adapted and validated for use in the Arab world.
Relation to conference theme: Current practices for screening for cognitive impairment in the MENA region are in dire need of change. Clinicians are mostly using western-developed tools that have not been properly culturally adapted, translated to local dialects, or standardized, normed, and validated in Arabic-speaking populations. The risk of measurement inconsistency and misdiagnoses is high and clinicians lack appropriate tools and guidelines to screen for cognitive impairment in a science-based manner. We address this need by presenting the cultural adaptation of accessible and easily administered measures in the hopes of bringing about this much needed change.
References:
Elshahidi MH, Elhadidi MA, Sharaqi AA, Mostafa A, Elzhery MA. Prevalence of dementia in Egypt: A systematic review. Neuropsychiatric Dis and Treat 2017 Mar 6:715-20. Available from: https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S127605
Fasfous, A. F., Al-Joudi, H. F., Puente, A. E., & Pérez-García, M. (2017). Neuropsychological measures in the Arab world: A systematic review. Neuropsychology review, 27, 158-173. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-017-9347-3
Nasreddine, Z. S., Phillips, N. A., Bédirian, V., Charbonneau, S., Whitehead, V., Collin, I., ... & Chertkow, H. (2005). The Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA: a brief screening tool for mild cognitive impairment. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 53(4), 695-699.