The Brain Vitality Index is a LifeByLogic-original assembly of well-established cognitive paradigms. Seven short tasks measure live performance across seven domains, which are age-adjusted, scored 0–100, and combined into a Brain Vitality Age and a cognitive archetype. This page documents exactly how that works — the paradigms, the task designs, the scoring pipeline, the norms, and the limits.
Each domain is operationalized through the experimental paradigm that the cognitive literature most consistently uses to measure it. The tasks are adapted for a short, browser-based, self-administered format — not reproduced verbatim from any clinical instrument.
| Domain | What it captures | Paradigm | Key reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working Memory | Visuospatial span — how much you can hold and reproduce | Corsi block-tapping, adaptive forward span | Corsi 1972; Kessels 2000 |
| Attention Control | Selective attention and interference suppression | Eriksen flanker | Eriksen & Eriksen 1974 |
| Cognitive Speed | Processing and psychomotor speed | Symbol–digit substitution (SDMT-style) | Smith 1982 |
| Mental Flexibility | Set-shifting; the cost of switching rules | Task-switching (switch cost) | Rogers & Monsell 1995; Monsell 2003 |
| Learning Efficiency | Associative encoding and delayed retention | Paired-associate learning + delayed recall | Verbal-learning literature |
| Cognitive Endurance | Whether performance holds or fades within a session | Within-session RT drift (derived) | Mackworth 1948 |
| Emotional Composure | How accuracy holds under time pressure | Pressure-contrast + brief self-report | Speed–accuracy / stress literature |
Every task follows the same three-beat structure: it teaches you the rule in plain language, gives you a practice round that does not count, then runs the clean trials that do. Reaction time is captured silently in the background — there is no visible timer, because watching a clock changes how people perform.
Working Memory uses an adaptive spatial span: tiles light up in sequence and you tap them back in order, with the sequence growing by one each time you are correct and stopping when you miss — so the task finds your ceiling rather than testing a fixed length. Attention Control uses a flanker array where a central arrow is surrounded by flankers that point the same way (congruent) or the opposite way (incongruent); the difference in your speed and accuracy between the two is the interference cost. Cognitive Speed shows a key of symbol–number pairs and asks you to enter the number for each symbol as quickly as you can over a short burst. Mental Flexibility alternates between two simple classification rules; the extra time you need on switch trials versus repeat trials is your switch cost. Learning Efficiency presents a set of pairs to learn, tests immediate recall, and then — after other tasks have intervened — probes delayed recall to capture retention, not just encoding. Cognitive Endurance is derived rather than a separate task: it compares your reaction times in the early trials of the speeded tasks against the late ones, so a performance that drifts slower over time reads as lower endurance. Emotional Composure contrasts a calm round with a pressured round and pairs the behavioral difference with a short self-report of how pressured you felt.
Five steps turn raw taps and timings into your Brain Vitality Age and archetype.
Each trial records accuracy and reaction time. Timing uses the browser's high-resolution clock and is never shown to you during a task.
Raw metrics are read against provisional age-reference ranges, so your performance is compared to a typical range for your age band rather than to twenty-year-olds. A strong score at 60 and a strong score at 25 mean the same thing relative to each person's band.
Each domain's age-adjusted performance is mapped to a 0–100 score, where higher means stronger relative to the age reference. These seven scores are what the radar shows.
A speed-weighted composite of the seven domain scores is expressed as an age, reported with a ±4-year band to signal that it is an estimate, not a precise measurement.
The shape of your profile — which domains lead and which lag — is matched to a cognitive archetype. Two people with the same Vitality Age can have different archetypes, because the archetype describes pattern, not just level.
The age-reference ranges are provisional. They are anchored to the published cognitive-aging literature — in particular the well-documented finding that different abilities peak at different ages, and that processing speed declines earlier and faster than crystallized knowledge (Salthouse 1996; Hartshorne & Germine 2015) — but they have not been calibrated on our own sample of test-takers.
What that means for your result. Treat your Brain Vitality Age as a ±4-year snapshot of how you performed in a single sitting, not a fixed property of your brain. Single-session scores are affected by sleep, caffeine, time of day, device, and simple familiarity with the task format — most people improve on a second attempt purely from practice. The number is a starting point for reflection, not a verdict.
The Brain Vitality Index is an educational performance snapshot. It is not an IQ test: it does not estimate general intelligence, and the domains are read within your own profile and age band rather than ranked against a population. It is not a neuropsychological assessment: a clinical battery is administered by a trained professional, normed on validated samples, and interpreted in context. And it is not a diagnosis of any condition — a low score on a given day is a prompt to look closer (sleep, stress, attention), not a conclusion.
It is also distinct from the Brain Age Index, which estimates a brain age from lifestyle and health inputs. The Brain Vitality Index measures live performance now; the two answer different questions and are most informative read together.
| Feature | Brain Vitality Index | Clinical neuropsych battery | Consumer brain-training |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Educational performance snapshot | Clinical assessment | Training product |
| Administration | Self-administered, ~14 min, browser | Professional, hours | Self, ongoing |
| Paradigms | 7 established paradigms, adapted | Validated subtests | Gamified tasks |
| Norms | Provisional age-reference ranges | Validated normative samples | Within-app percentiles |
| Validation | Not validated | Validated | Mixed / limited transfer |
| Output | Vitality Age + 7 domains + archetype | Diagnostic profile | Training scores |
| Cost | Free (optional $24.99 report) | $$$ | Subscription |
Single session: one sitting captures state as much as trait, and is sensitive to sleep, time of day, and effort. Provisional norms: the age-reference ranges are not yet calibrated on our own data. Practice and familiarity: scores typically rise on repeat attempts from format familiarity alone. Device and input: touch versus mouse, screen size, and latency affect reaction-time tasks. Not diagnostic: the Index cannot identify or rule out any clinical condition. Cultural and linguistic: the tasks and instructions are in English and reflect a particular set of conventions.