A New Cognitive Test for the Force. What Comes After the Score?

Q: What does a measure-and-train loop look like?

In a measure-and-train loop, a service member gets a baseline, trains, and checks progress over a career, with the whole cycle running at the unit. We see a future where measurement and training work as one loop, and a modern assessment makes that more achievable than it has ever been. Neurova Labs is veteran founded and veteran led. We are building toward that future for the Total Force, for first responders, and for the communities they come home to. Train the brain. Change everything. To bring Neurova Academy to your unit, clinic, or community, visit neurovalabs.com.

Neurova Labs

Sep 19

3 min read

Updated: Sep 28

Reviewed by Marc Ó Gríofa, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer, Neurova Labs

In July, Military Times reported that the Pentagon will phase out the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics, known as ANAM, and replace it with a next-generation cognitive monitoring tool. ANAM dates to 1984. The new capability is meant to detect cognitive changes earlier and give commanders data they can act on. Deployed service members will get it first, followed by those preparing to deploy, then the rest of the force and high-risk civilian personnel.

Update, September 28, 2026: ANAM remains in active use while that replacement is phased in. On September 25, Navy Medicine reported a phased rollout of its ANAM-based Cognitive Monitoring Program at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, with a goal of establishing current baselines for remaining eligible Sailors there by the end of fiscal year 2027.

A participant works through a Neurova Academy environment during a group session

Why is the Pentagon replacing its cognitive test?

The Pentagon is replacing ANAM because the tool dates to 1984, and the new capability is meant to detect cognitive changes earlier and give commanders data they can act on. This is a welcome change. ANAM gave the military its first large-scale cognitive baselines, and the memo credits it for that foundation. Four decades later, the tools for measuring the brain have moved a long way, and the force deserves a cognitive test that keeps pace.

What should a unit offer after a score changes?

For many service members, the next step after a changed score should start with training. A score is a snapshot. Capacity gets built through practice, the same way a unit builds physical fitness after a PT test.

Every assessment raises that follow-up question. Once a tool shows a change in someone's attention, memory, or processing speed, the unit needs something to offer that person next.

That is the gap Neurova Labs set out to fill. Neurova Academy uses real-time behavioral and performance analysis to adjust scenario complexity to each participant's learning curve, meeting each user at their current cognitive baseline. The program is built to stimulate the prefrontal cortex to enhance decision-making speed, sustained focus, and cognitive flexibility under pressure. Program development was guided by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and fNCI conducted at a neurological treatment center, and a certified facilitator runs every session.

How does Neurova Labs measure its own program?

Neurova Labs measures its own program with validated tools, including the PCL-5 and the Kessler-6. In a community pilot with the YMCA of Orange County in June and July 2026, 100 people enrolled and 84 completed the full 30-day assessment. Trauma symptom scores on the PCL-5 improved an average of 28 percent, from 29.1 to 21.0 (p < 0.001). Psychological distress on the Kessler-6 improved 24 percent, from 14.0 to 10.6 (p < 0.001). Sleep quality, tracked through daily diaries and wearable data, improved 22 percent.

Those are observational findings from a single-arm pilot, and a controlled validation study is underway. They show what becomes possible when training and measurement run together.

What does a measure-and-train loop look like?

In a measure-and-train loop, a service member gets a baseline, trains, and checks progress over a career, with the whole cycle running at the unit. We see a future where measurement and training work as one loop, and a modern assessment makes that more achievable than it has ever been.

Neurova Labs is veteran founded and veteran led. We are building toward that future for the Total Force, for first responders, and for the communities they come home to. Train the brain. Change everything.

To bring Neurova Academy to your unit, clinic, or community, visit neurovalabs.com.

About Neurova Labs

Neurova Labs is a veteran-led neurotechnology company based in Salt Lake City. Its program, Neurova Academy, is a facilitator-led neuro-immersive brain training program designed to support focus, stress regulation, and mental endurance, with no clinical infrastructure required. Programs can add an optional 22-marker panel measuring RNA gene expression from whole blood, processed by iXpressGenes, a CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited laboratory. Neurova Labs works with military units, first responder agencies, clinics, and community organizations. Learn more at neurovalabs.com.

Neurova Academy is a general wellness and cognitive training program. It is not a medical device and is not offered to diagnose, treat, cure, or mitigate any disease or condition, including concussion, traumatic brain injury, or CTE. References to news reporting, government publications, and published research are for commentary only and do not imply endorsement of Neurova Labs by any federal entity or research institution.