Episodic Memory
Paired Associate Learning Task
Assess visuospatial episodic memory and object-location binding in a hosted browser workflow.
6-8 minUntimed
Free to start: 10 free participants per account, then $0.99 per participant for academic research, or any yearly plan. Try it here first, with no account.
- Papers, 2021 to 2025
- 332
- Evidence grade
- B
- Registered clinical studies
- 204
What it measures
Measures visuospatial episodic memory by asking participants to learn and recall the locations of patterns hidden in boxes on a grid.
Constructs
- Visuospatial episodic memory
- Object-location binding
- Pattern recognition
- Associative learning
- Hippocampal function
Research uses
- Early Alzheimer's disease detection
- Mild cognitive impairment screening
- Medial temporal lobe function assessment
- Amnestic syndrome evaluation
- Pharmacological trial endpoints (cholinesterase inhibitors)
How the paradigm works
The Paired Associate Learning task measures visuospatial episodic memory through object-location binding. Participants view a 3x3 grid of boxes that open one at a time to reveal colored patterns. After all boxes have been shown, a pattern appears in the center of the screen, and the participant must click the box where that pattern was located.
More about the paradigm
The task uses a progressive difficulty design across four stages: 2 patterns, 4 patterns, 6 patterns, and 8 patterns. At each stage, participants have up to 3 attempts to correctly locate all patterns. The task terminates early if all patterns are placed correctly on any attempt, otherwise continues until max attempts are exhausted.
PAL specifically measures the ability to form and retrieve object-location associations, a function critically dependent on the hippocampus and medial temporal lobe. It is one of the earliest tasks to show impairment in prodromal Alzheimer's disease and is part of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB).
Scores
- Total Errorscount
- Patterns not placed correctly across all stages and attempts: a click on the wrong box, or no click within 30 seconds. Primary measure of learning efficiency.
- Lower is better
- Total Trialscount
- Total number of pattern placement attempts across all stages.
- Lower is better
- First Trial Memory Scorecount
- Number of stages where all patterns were correctly placed on the first attempt. Measures immediate memory strength.
- Higher is better
- Stages Completedcount
- Number of stages passed in order, each by an attempt that placed every pattern correctly within the maximum attempts.
- Higher is better
- Time-outscount
- Patterns with no box chosen within 30 seconds. Each also counts as an error.
- Lower is better
- Mean Response Latencyms
- Average time to select a box location after pattern presentation.
- Informational
Use and evidence
332 papers from 2021 to 2025 name this task in their title or abstract, down 9% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 90 of 632 test families in our census. The Picture Partners Game page shows these counts too, as those of the published test the game is compared with. See the counts for every test.
Show the numbers
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 70 |
| 2024 | 60 |
| 2023 | 62 |
| 2022 | 61 |
| 2021 | 79 |
| 2020 | 79 |
| 2019 | 63 |
| 2018 | 84 |
| 2017 | 69 |
| 2016 | 71 |
| 2015 | 67 |
| 2014 | 56 |
| 2013 | 59 |
| 2012 | 58 |
| 2011 | 50 |
| 2010 | 42 |
| 2009 | 33 |
| 2008 | 34 |
| 2007 | 29 |
| 2006 | 40 |
| 2005 | 27 |
| 2004 | 27 |
| 2003 | 27 |
| 2002 | 18 |
| 2001 | 16 |
| 2000 | 22 |
Use grade B
300 to 999 papers from 2021 to 2025.
Evidence grade B
At least 8 test-retest papers, and either 5 registered clinical studies or 150 reliability or validity papers.
- Papers on test-retest reliability
- 24
- Papers on reliability or validity
- 171
- Registered clinical studies using it as an outcome
- 204
Measured on ConductCognition
Pooled across the studies that feed our platform norms, by device group. A figure needs 50 or more people.
No pooled figure yet.
Note on the counts: includes verbal paired associates.
How the grades work
Use: A is 1,000 or more papers from 2021 to 2025, B 300 to 999, C 100 to 299, D 30 to 99 and E fewer than 30. Evidence: A means at least 25 papers report its test-retest reliability and at least 25 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome; B, at least 8 test-retest papers, and either 5 registered clinical studies or 150 reliability or validity papers; C, at least 2 test-retest papers, 30 reliability or validity papers or 3 registered clinical studies; D, little published measurement evidence found. The counts measure use. They include every paper that names the task in its title or abstract. Grades describe the published research on this task, not ConductCognition's version of it.
Source: ConductCognition test census 0.44.0, counted 31 October 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
Quality checks
Each session is marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason, before you see its scores.
Scored rows: pal_test probes, one of 9 boxes (chance 1 in 9). Accuracy at or below chance is flagged, never invalid. A probe with no box chosen within 30 s is a missed response: more than max(3, 25%) invalidate, any is flagged. A hidden tab withholds the percentile.
Why these rules
Choosing another pattern's box is the binding error seen in memory impairment, so systematic errors can be a real result and accuracy is only flagged. A time-out counts as an error and fails the stage (scoring 1.1.0), and many time-outs mean the participant was not doing the task, so they are treated as non-engagement under the timed-test thresholds. A hidden tab lets the study, delay or response timers run without the participant, so a percentile is withheld after one.
Running this test
Settings you can change
This test runs with fixed settings.
Need a different version of this test?
Devices and languages
- Untimed test: runs on desktops, laptops, tablets and phones. Participant devices
- Languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (Simplified) and Japanese.
- Available on: Every plan, including the free plan.
- Recruiting online? See the setup guides for Prolific, Sona Systems, CloudResearch Connect and Qualtrics.
Included in these batteries
Each battery runs this test with others in a fixed order, with standard settings.
- Working Memory and Learning Battery4 tests, 19 minutes per participant
- Language-Minimized Screening Battery8 tests, 30 minutes per participant
- Medication Studies Battery5 tests, 26 minutes per participant
Cite and describe
Participants completed the Paired Associate Learning task in a web browser (ConductCognition task version 1.1.0, scoring version 1.1.0; Owen et al., 1995; de Zubicaray et al., 2001). The main score was total errors (patterns not placed correctly across all stages and attempts: a click on the wrong box, or no click within 30 seconds).
Paradigm source: Owen et al. (1995); de Zubicaray et al. (2001).
ConductCognition versions: task version 1.1.0, scoring version 1.1.0. Every export records the versions each session used, for a methods section.
Source papers
- Abbott RA, Skirrow C, Jokisch M, et al. (2019). Normative data from linear and nonlinear quantile regression in CANTAB: Cognition in mid-to-late life in an epidemiological sample. Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring, 11:36-44.Paradigm source
Questions
How long does the Paired Associate Learning Task take?
About 6 to 8 minutes, as listed in the test library.
What device does a participant need?
Untimed test: runs on desktops, laptops, tablets and phones. The browser must be Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
What scores does it produce?
Total Errors, Total Trials, First Trial Memory Score, Stages Completed, Time-outs and Mean Response Latency. Each session is also marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason.
How widely is the Paired Associate Learning Task used in research?
332 papers from 2021 to 2025 name it in their title or abstract, down 9% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 90 of 632 test families in the ConductCognition test census (use grade B). Source: ConductCognition test census 0.44.0, counted 31 October 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
How much reliability evidence does the Paired Associate Learning Task have?
In the published research, 24 papers report its test-retest reliability and 204 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome (evidence grade B in the ConductCognition test census).
Which languages can participants use?
Participants can take this test in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (Simplified) and Japanese. English is on every plan, and the other languages come with yearly plans. Have a native speaker read the machine-translated text before launch.
Is this a clinical test?
No. ConductCognition is for research use only. It runs, scores and exports the test; clinical interpretation is outside the platform.
Every test: the full test list.
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