Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 May 15;12(1):e12018.
doi: 10.1002/dad2.12018. eCollection 2020.

Associations between NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery and in vivo brain amyloid and tau pathology in non-demented older adults

Beth E Snitz  1 , Dana L Tudorascu  2 , Zheming Yu  3 , Elizabeth Campbell  3 , Brian J Lopresti  3 , Charles M Laymon  3   4 , Davneet S Minhas  3 , Neelesh K Nadkarni  2 , Howard J Aizenstein  5   4 , William E Klunk  5 , Sandra Weintraub  6 , Richard C Gershon  7 , Ann D Cohen  5
Affiliations

Associations between NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery and in vivo brain amyloid and tau pathology in non-demented older adults

Beth E Snitz et al. Alzheimers Dement (Amst). .

Abstract

Introduction: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Toolbox Cognition Battery (NIHTB-CB) was developed to be a common assessment metric across a broad array of research studies. We investigated associations between NIHTB-CB and brain amyloid and tau deposition in cognitively unimpaired older adults.

Methods: One hundred eighteen community-based volunteers completed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Pittsburgh compound B (PiB)-PET (positron emission tomography) and AV-1451-PET neuroimaging, a neuropsychological evaluation, NIHTB-CB, and the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale. Demographically adjusted regression models evaluated cognition-biomarker associations; standardized effect sizes allowed comparison of association strength across measures.

Results: No NIHTB-CB measures were associated with amyloid deposition. NIHTB-CB measures of fluid cognition, including Pattern Comparison Processing Speed, Dimensional Change Card Sort, and Fluid Cognition Composite, were associated with tau deposition in higher Braak regions. Pattern Comparison Processing Speed was the most robust association with sensitivity analyses.

Discussion: NIHTB-CB tasks of processing speed and executive functions may be sensitive to pathologic tau deposition on imaging in normal aging.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; biomarkers; cognition; neuropsychology.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Association between Braak region 3/4 tau (AV‐1451 retention) and Pattern Comparison Processing Speed Test performance. Scatterplot on the left shows raw data points. Scatterplot on the right shows standardized model estimates with age, sex, education, and race as covariates
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Gershon RC, Wagster MV, Hendrie HC, Fox NA, Cook KF, Nowinski CJ. NIH toolbox for assessment of neurological and behavioral function. Neurology. 2013;80(11 supplement 3):S2‐S6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Weintraub S, Dikmen SS, Heaton RK, et al. Cognition assessment using the NIH Toolbox. Neurology. 2013;80(11 Supplement 3):S54‐S64. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Weintraub S, Dikmen SS, Heaton RK, et al. The cognition battery of the NIH toolbox for assessment of neurological and behavioral function: validation in an adult sample. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2014;20(6):567‐578. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Heaton RK, Akshoomoff N, Tulsky D, et al. Reliability and validity of composite scores from the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery in adults. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2014;20(6):588‐598. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zelazo PD, Anderson JE, Richler J, et al. NIH toolbox cognition battery (CB): validation of executive function measures in adults. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2014;20(6):620‐629. - PMC - PubMed