Design and Harmonization Approach for the Multi-Institutional Neurocognitive Discovery Study (MINDS) of Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD) Neuroimaging Ancillary Study: A Technical Note.

Dramatic advances in the management of congenital heart disease (CHD) have improved survival to adulthood from less than 10% in the 1960s to over 90% in the current era, such that adult CHD (ACHD) patients now outnumber their pediatric counterparts. ACHD patients demonstrate domain-specific neurocognitive deficits associated with reduced quality of life that include deficits in educational attainment and social interaction. Our hypothesis is that ACHD patients exhibit vascular brain injury and structural/physiological brain alterations that are predictive of specific neurocognitive deficits modified by behavioral and environmental enrichment proxies of cognitive reserve (e.

Computerized adaptive test strategies for the matrix reasoning subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, 4th Edition (WAIS-IV).

Objective: Most neuropsychological tests were developed without the benefit of modern psychometric theory. We used item response theory (IRT) methods to determine whether a widely used test - the 26-item Matrix Reasoning subtest of the WAIS-IV - might be used more efficiently if it were administered using computerized adaptive testing (CAT).

Method: Data on the Matrix Reasoning subtest from 2197 participants enrolled in the National Neuropsychology Network (NNN) were analyzed using a two-parameter logistic (2PL) IRT model.

Design of a multi-institutional neurocognitive discovery study in adult congenital heart disease (MINDS-ACHD).

Background: Neurocognitive dysfunction (NCD) is a common comorbidity among children with congenital heart disease (CHD). However, it is unclear how underlying CHD and its sequelae combine with genetics and acquired cardiovascular and neurological disease to impact NCD and outcomes across the lifespan in adults with CHD.

Methods: The Multi-Institutional Neurocognitive Discovery Study in Adults with Congenital Heart Disease (MINDS-ACHD) is a partnership between the Pediatric Heart Network (PHN) and the Adult Alliance for Research in Congenital Cardiology (AARCC) that examines objective and subjective neurocognitive function and genetics in young ACHD.

The Future of Cognitive Screening in Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Cognitive screening instruments (CSI) have variable sensitivity and specificity to the cognitive changes associated with dementia syndromes, and the most recent systematic review found insufficient evidence to support the benefit of cognitive screening tools in older adults residing within the community. Consequently, there is a critical need to improve CSI methods, which have not yet incorporated advances in psychometrics, neuroscience, and technology. The primary goal of this article is to provide a framework for transitioning from legacy CSIs to advanced dementia screening measurement.

Construct identification in the neuropsychological battery: What are we measuring?

Objective: Major obstacles to data harmonization in neuropsychology include lack of consensus about what constructs and tests are most important and invariant across healthy and clinical populations. This study addressed these challenges using data from the National Neuropsychology Network (NNN).

Method: Data were obtained from 5,000 NNN participants and Pearson standardization samples.

Hippocampal Volumes in Amnestic and Non-Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment Types Using Two Common Methods of MCI Classification.

Objectives: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) types may have distinct neuropathological substrates with hippocampal atrophy particularly common in amnestic MCI (aMCI). However, depending on the MCI classification criteria applied to the sample (e.g.

Rationale and Design of the National Neuropsychology Network.

Objective: The National Neuropsychology Network (NNN) is a multicenter clinical research initiative funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH; R01 MH118514) to facilitate neuropsychology's transition to contemporary psychometric assessment methods with resultant improvement in test validation and assessment efficiency.

Method: The NNN includes four clinical research sites (Emory University; Medical College of Wisconsin; University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); University of Florida) and Pearson Clinical Assessment. Pearson Q-interactive (Q-i) is used for data capture for Pearson published tests; web-based data capture tools programmed by UCLA, which serves as the Coordinating Center, are employed for remaining measures.

Changes in Cerebral Volume and White Matter Integrity in Adults on Hemodialysis and Relationship to Cognitive Function.

Introduction: Patients on hemodialysis (HD) have a significant burden of cognitive impairment. Characterizing the cerebral structural changes in HD patients compared to healthy controls and evaluating the relationship of cerebral structural integrity with cognitive performance in HD patients can help clarify the pathophysiology of the cognitive impairment in HD patients.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, in-center HD patients ≥50 years of age underwent brain structural and diffusion MRIs and cognitive assessment using the NIH Toolbox cognition battery.

Memory Performance and Quantitative Neuroimaging Software in Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Concurrent Validity Study.

Objective: This study examined the relationship between patient performance on multiple memory measures and regional brain volumes using an FDA-cleared quantitative volumetric analysis program - Neuroreader™.

Method: Ninety-two patients diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by a clinical neuropsychologist completed cognitive evaluations and underwent MR Neuroreader™ within 1 year of testing. Select brain regions were correlated with three widely used memory tests.

Identifying self-reported neurocognitive deficits in the adult with congenital heart disease using a simple screening tool.

Objective: Children with congenital heart disease (CHD) and adults with acquired heart disease are at an increased risk of neurocognitive impairment. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of self-reported neurocognitive impairment and its risk factors in the adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) population.

Design: The Wisconsin Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program recently began screening ACHD patients to identify those with significant self-perceived neurocognitive impairments.

Prorating WAIS - IV summary scores for patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

We evaluated the utility of prorating appropriate combinations of two, six and eight Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Fourth Edition (WAIS - IV) subtests for estimating the Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI), Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI), Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) and General Ability Index (GAI) in a sample of individuals diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). Forty-eight outpatients completed the WAIS - IV and Wechsler Memory Scale - Fourth Edition (WMS - IV) as part of a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. Means for age, education and duration of diagnosis were 42.

Sensitivity and specificity of memory and naming tests for identifying left temporal-lobe epilepsy.

The sensitivity and specificity of the Selective Reminding Test (SRT) Delayed Recall, Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) Logical Memory, the Boston Naming Test (BNT), and two nonverbal memory measures for detecting lateralized dysfunction in association with side of seizure focus was examined in a sample of 143 patients with left or right temporal-lobe epilepsy (TLE). Scores on the SRT and BNT were statistically significantly lower in the left TLE group compared with the right TLE group, whereas no group differences emerged on the Logical Memory subtest. No significant group differences were found with nonverbal memory measures.

Development of alternate paragraphs for the Logical Memory subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale-IV.

The purpose of the two studies included in this article was to validate an alternate form, the Morris Revision-Fourth Edition (MR-IV), to the Logical Memory paragraphs of the Wechsler Memory Scale-Fourth Edition (LM-IV) for use when retesting of individuals is desired. Study I demonstrated high correlation with the LM-IV paragraphs. Study II was a replication that again demonstrated high correlation between the original LM-IV and the new MR-IV paragraphs.

Stability of WISC-IV process scores.

Forty-three students were administered on two occasions approximately 11 months apart the complete Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition, including the seven process components of Block Design No Time Bonus, Digit Span Forward (DSF), Digit Span Backward (DSB), Cancellation Random (CAR), Cancellation Structured (CAS), Longest Digit Span Forward (LDSF), and Longest Digit Span Backward (LDSB). Mean ages at first and second testing were 7.77 years (SD = 1.

Estimating WAIS-IV indexes: proration versus linear scaling in a clinical sample.

Objectives: We compared the accuracy of proration and linear scaling for estimating Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV), Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI), and Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI) composites from all possible two subtest combinations. The purpose was to provide practice relevant psychometric results in a clinical sample.

Design: The present investigation was an archival study that used mostly within-group comparisons.