HQ BaselineMilitary & defense
ANAM (Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics): The Pre-Deployment Cognitive Baseline
The tool that established the framework for military cognitive baselines.
ANAM has been the U.S. military’s primary pre-deployment cognitive baseline tool since the early 2000s. Developed by the DOD and validated in large military populations through research published in Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology and Military Medicine, it established the framework for what the 2024 DOD mandate now expands to all service members.
What ANAM tests
ANAM’s test battery includes: simple reaction time (basic motor response speed), mathematical processing (arithmetic computation under time pressure), matching-to-sample (visual memory and pattern recognition), and Sternberg memory search (working memory scanning speed). The battery takes approximately 20–30 minutes and is typically administered on computer terminals during pre-deployment processing, initial entry training, or annual health assessments.
How ANAM integrates with acute care
ANAM data is intended to be maintained in a service member’s military health record and used as the comparison standard if a TBI is sustained during deployment. The MACE 2 (Military Acute Concussion Evaluation) is designed to interface with ANAM baseline data — the acute field screening results can be compared against the pre-deployment ANAM baseline to identify clinically meaningful cognitive decline. See our piece on how MACE 2, ANAM, and DANA fit together.
The data continuity challenge
The challenge has been data continuity. As documented in GAO reports and military health system reviews, service members change duty stations, medical records systems don’t always communicate across military branches, and ANAM baseline data can be difficult to locate years after administration. The 2024 DOD mandate explicitly addresses this by requiring centralized, accessible baseline data management.
After separation
At Headquarters, we help veterans establish civilian cognitive baselines as part of post-separation healthcare planning. We also recommend that separating service members request copies of their ANAM data — it’s part of their medical record, and having it available to VA or civilian clinicians provides valuable longitudinal context. See from active duty to the VA for more.