> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.dolva.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Cognitive Analysis: Understanding Dolva Speech Signals

> Cognitive analysis detects signals like cognitive load and clarity from audio. Learn how Dolva processes speech to surface these insights.

Cognitive analysis is one of Dolva's two core analysis types. When you send an audio recording to the `/v1/analyze/cognitive` endpoint, Dolva's models examine the acoustic and speech-pattern properties of the recording to surface signals about the speaker's cognitive state — for example, how much mental effort they appear to be exerting, how clear their thinking sounds, and related markers.

## What It Measures

Cognitive signals are extracted from the natural properties of speech — things like pacing, hesitation patterns, vocal cadence, and articulation. These acoustic features correlate with well-studied markers of cognitive engagement and load.

The analysis is fully automatic: you supply the audio file and Dolva handles all signal extraction. No transcription is required, and the models work directly on the audio waveform.

## Common Use Cases

* **Mental wellness monitoring** — Track cognitive changes over time for individuals or cohorts
* **Conversation intelligence** — Assess cognitive engagement in sales calls, interviews, or coaching sessions
* **Clinical research** — Supplement clinical assessments with objective acoustic signal data
* **Accessibility tooling** — Detect cognitive fatigue in real-time applications

## How to Request Cognitive Analysis

Send a `multipart/form-data` POST request to `/v1/analyze/cognitive` with your audio file:

```bash curl theme={null}
curl -X POST https://api.dolva.ai/v1/analyze/cognitive \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer dv-xxxxxxxx" \
  -F "audio=@conversation.wav"
```

The response is a JSON object containing the cognitive signal data extracted from your audio.

## Relationship to Emotion Analysis

Cognitive and emotion analyses are independent — you can run one or both on the same recording. While they analyze the same audio file, they target different signal dimensions: cognitive analysis focuses on processing patterns and mental load, while [emotion analysis](/concepts/emotion-analysis) targets affective states and valence.

<Card title="View the API Reference" icon="code" href="/api-reference/analyze-cognitive">
  Full request/response details for POST /v1/analyze/cognitive
</Card>