The incredibly complex world of reliable change made surprisingly simple
The International Neuropsychological Society is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The International Neuropsychological Society maintains responsibility for this program and its content.Educational Objectives
- Understand the conceptual differences between Reliable Change + Practice Effects (RCI+PE) and Standardized Regression Based (SRB) change scores
- Describe how to compute and apply basic mathematical formula for assessing cognitive change with RCI+PE and SRB in a sample of individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment
- List the factors that influence the calculation of RCI+PE and SRB
- Apply a working knowledge of these change scores so that they can be applied in clinical settings and research projects
Course Information
| Target Audience: | Intermediate |
|---|---|
| Availability: | Date Available: 2023-03-13 |
| You may obtain CE for this webinar at any time. | |
| Offered for CE | Yes |
| Cost | Members $20 |
| Non-Members $30 | |
| Refund Policy | This webinar is not eligible for refunds |
| CE Credits 1.0 |
Abstract
Serial neuropsychological assessments are complicated to interpret due to practice effects, regression to the mean, and “normal” change in clinical conditions. Nonetheless, they occur frequently in clinical practice and research. This webinar will compare and contrast the two most widely-used change score methods: Reliable Change Index + Practice Effects (RCI+PE) and Standardized Regression-Based (SRB) change scores. Using actual data in patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment, RCI+PE and SRB will be calculated and compared among subgroups of this sample. Factors that influence RCI+PE and SRB methods will be highlighted, as will methods for using these change scores in clinical practice and research. Although this webinar will be math-heavy, it should allow individuals to immediately start using these change methods in their clinical practice and research.
References
- Chelune, G. J., Naugle, R. I., Luders, H., Sedlak, J., & Awad, I. A. (1993). Individual change after epilepsy surgery: Practice effects and base-rate information. Neuropsychology, 7(1), 41 - 52.
- Duff K. Evidence-based indicators of neuropsychological change in the individual patient: relevant concepts and methods. Arch Clin Neuropsychol. 2012 May;27(3):248-61. doi: 10.1093/arclin/acr120. Epub 2012 Feb 29. PMID: 22382384; PMCID: PMC3499091.
- Maassen, G. H., Bossema, E. R., & Brand, N. (2006). Reliable change assessment with practice effects in sport concussion research: a comment on Hinton-Bayre. Br J Sports Med, 40(10), 829-833.
- McSweeny, A. J., Naugle, R. I., Chelune, G. J., & Luders, H. (1993). T scores for change: An illustration of a regression approach to depicting change in clinical neuropsychology. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 7, 300-312.
Disclosures
None
Author(s)
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Dr. Kevin Duff has specialized in neuropsychology for over 20 years. He obtained his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the State University of New York in Albany. He completed his neuropsychology internship at the Southern Arizona Healthcare System in Tucson, AZ, and his post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City. He joined the Psychiatry Department at the University of Iowa in 2003, where had clinical and research responsibilities working with patients with dementia, Huntington’s disease, and a variety of other neuropsychiatric conditions. In 2009, he joined the University of Utah as Associate Professor of Neurology and neuropsychologist for Alzheimer’s Care, Imaging and Research. He was promoted to Professor with Tenure in 2016. In 2022, he moved (hopefully for the last time in his career) to the Layton Aging & Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center in the Department of Neurology at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon.
Dr. Duff’s research has focused primarily on the early identification of cognitive decline in neuropsychiatric illnesses. Across multiple studies, Dr. Duff has used short-term practice effects as a marker of brain plasticity in patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment to examine if short-term changes in cognition can predict the diagnosis and prognosis of dementia, as well as its brain pathology and response to interventions. He has published over 175 peer-reviewed papers in scientific journals and he has lectured nationally and internationally on his areas of expertise. His research on practice effects in Mild Cognitive Impairment has been continually funded by the National Institutes of Health since 2005, including ongoing projects that go until 2026.