Interpretable biomarkers for cognitive load utilizing drawing data from consumer-grade tablets

Previous research in motor control has proposed biomechanical invariants in specific classes of movements. However, it previously had not been rigorously tested how these parameterizations of movements alter in response to changes to either external or internal state. In this study, we have repurposed existing tests of executive function and motor control as a simple assay of movement under varying levels of cognitive control. We have adapted and repurposed the drawing task from the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, using consumer-grade tablets to characterize the pen kinematics under varying cognitive loads. We hypothesize that by varying cognitive load by altering the requirements of the drawing task, we can characterize the change in cognitive load by studying the corresponding kinematic profiles that generate the paths, allowing us to build a baseline to compare against in populations with various cognitive impairments, characterized in the spatial domain as well as the temporal domain.