Conference on Advanced Psychometric Methods in Cognitive Aging Research

The rising prevalence with advancing age and the adverse impact of debilitating diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) has led to a need for clinical and research methods for measurement of effects of these diseases. Cognitive tests, biomarkers, informant reports, imaging data, and a wealth of other

measures play major roles in detecting, diagnosing and monitoring disease status and progression. Greater demographic diversity creates special challenges for accurate measurement of cognition. Most cognitive tests that are in clinical and research use were developed using psychometric methods from the first half of the 20th

century. There have been substantial advances in measurement theory and methodology, notably item response theory (IRT) and associated latent variable modeling methods, that could have an important impact on the measurement of cognition. There have been parallel advances in statistical methodology for modeling

longitudinal cognitive trajectories and identifying characteristics that impact these important outcomes. This conference series is designed to promote the application of modern psychometric and statistical methods in research on cognitive aging and ADRD. Specific goals are: 1) to expose developing and established

researchers in cognitive aging and ADRD research to modern psychometric and statistical modeling techniques, 2) to expose experts in psychometric theory and statistics to the practical and theoretical concerns of cognitive aging and Alzheimer’s disease research, and 3) encourage collaborations of researchers,

psychometricians, and statisticians during these conferences. We have conducted 14 successful annual conferences since initial funding of this grant in 2008, which has generated 84 collaborative publications to date. This experience has helped to shape our plans for the next generation of conferences. The format of the

conferences includes didactic presentations by experts in cognitive aging and applied psychometric theory, demonstrations of methods, and most importantly, hands-on experience using real data. This content and format is not only appropriate for encouraging education and collaboration of seasoned researchers but has

also been an extremely effective learning environment for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty. Conference themes for the proposed five-year renewal period are: 1) Cross-national comparisons of cognitive aging outcomes and correlates, 2) synthetic data sets, 3) Advances in algorithms for diagnosing

cognitive impairment and dementia, 4) Advanced Methods for Understanding Racial and Ethnic Inequalities in Cognitive Aging and Dementia, and 5) Global pandemic and Cognitive Aging. All conferences address methods and substantive science issues that are relevant for research to understand, diagnose, monitor, and

treat ADRD and related causes of cognitive decline. There will be a heavy emphasis on workgroups organized around scientific analyses of real data, and we plan to disseminate the information resulting from these workshops through publications in peer reviewed scientific journals and through conference presentations.