The ViRA-L (Visual Recognition Assessment–Leuven): Development, Validation, and Age-Stratified Normative Characterization of a Multi-Category Visual Recognition Battery
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Objective
To develop and validate the Visual Recognition Assessment–Leuven (ViRA-L), a recognition-memory battery assessing ten visual categories within a matched task structure, and provide age-stratified normative data.
Method
Healthy Dutch-speaking adults completed a visual recognition task for ten categories. Each category included six targets, 18 Learning trials, and 30 Novel trials requiring recognition across appearance changes. After exclusions, 417 participants remained. We evaluated reliability, score distributions, task effects, demographic associations, and category-specific norms.
Results
Battery-level internal consistency was good (Cronbach’s α =.879; omega total =.901), with lower category-level estimates, broad score dispersion, and minimal floor and ceiling effects. Novel and difficult trials produced lower accuracy and slower responses. Age was the clearest demographic correlate of accuracy; gender and education showed no independent overall associations. Age effects varied by category and were larger in Novel than Learning trials. Model-based differences between ages 50 and 85 were largest for Pseudowords and Hands and smallest for Houses.
Conclusions
The ViRA-L supports comparison of recognition-memory profiles under matched procedures. Category-dependent age associations support age-sensitive, category-specific interpretation. The battery provides a foundation for neuropsychological research; further validation is required for clinical diagnostic use.
Statement of Research Significance
Research Question(s) or Topic(s)
Can one recognition-memory task compare performance across ten visual categories, and how do these abilities differ between younger and older adults?
Main Findings
The battery produced reliable overall scores, while reliability varied between categories. Older age was associated with lower accuracy, particularly for pseudowords and hands, and when learned items appeared in new views. Age differences were smaller for houses.
Study Contributions
The study provides a common framework and age-specific reference scores for examining recognition profiles across categories. It supports future research on visual difficulties after brain injury and identifies the additional validation needed before diagnostic use.
Article activity feed
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Authors published a paper in Biorxiv, they used MOCA in the study. Including #RRIDs will make this less ambiguous. SciScore made a table with this resource, see “Automated Services” module (download as csv, xml or #jats) #OpenScience #reproducibility
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The ViRA-L (Visual Recognition Assessment-Leuven): Development, Validation, and Age Stratified Normative Characterization of a Multi-Category Visual Recognition Battery https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.27.761867v1
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The ViRA-L (Visual Recognition Assessment-Leuven): Development, Validation, and Age Stratified Normative Characterization of a Multi-Category Visual Recognition Battery https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.27.761867v1
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