Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40585136›Full record

ArticlemedRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences2025

Practice effects persist over two decades of cognitive testing: Implications for longitudinal research.

Jeremy A Elman, Erik Buchholz, Rouhui Chen, Mark Sanderson-Cimino, Tyler R Bell, Nathan Whitsel, Katherine J Bangen, Alice Cronin-Golomb, Anders M Dale, Lisa T Eyler and 21 more

Abstract readPreprint
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

31 authors.

Jeremy A ElmanDepartment of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5840-1769
Erik BuchholzDepartment of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Rouhui ChenDepartment of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
Mark Sanderson-CiminoMemory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, San Francisco, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5872-3186
Tyler R BellDepartment of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Nathan WhitselDepartment of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Katherine J BangenDepartment of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Alice Cronin-GolombDepartment of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
Anders M DaleDepartment of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
Lisa T EylerDepartment of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Christine Fennema-NotestineDepartment of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Carol E FranzDepartment of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Nathan A GillespieVirginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavior Genetics, Richmond, Virginia, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-8655-2823
Eric L GranholmDepartment of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Daniel E GustavsonInstitute for Behavioral Genetics and Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA.
Donald J HaglerJ. Craig Venter Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Richard L HaugerDepartment of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Diane M JacobsDepartment of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Amy J JakDepartment of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Mark W LogueDepartment of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
Michael J LyonsDepartment of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
Ruth E McKenzieSchool of Education and Social Policy, Applied Human Development and Community Studies, Merrimack College, North Andover, MA, USA.
Michael C NealeVirginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavior Genetics, Richmond, Virginia, USA.
Robert A RissmanDepartment of Physiology and Neuroscience, Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute of the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, San Diego, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9245-8278
Chandra A ReynoldsInstitute for Behavioral Genetics and Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA.
Rosemary ToomeyDepartment of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
Arthur WingfieldDepartment of Psychology and Volen National Center for Complex Systems, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, USA.
Hong XianDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Saint. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
Xin M TuHerbert Wertheim School of Public Health & Human Longevity Science, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
William S KremenDepartment of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Matthew S PanizzonDepartment of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.

Funding

UCSD Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer's Disease Research Center P30P30AG062429 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI Mark W Bondi · 2019 to 2026
$34.9M
Vascular Contributions to Dementia and Genetic Risk Factors for Alzheimer's DiseaseP01AG052350 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI Robert Rissman · 2016 to 2026
$28.4M
The VETSA Longitudinal Twin Study of Cognition and Aging (VETSA 4)R01AG050595 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI ELMAN, JEREMY A, FRANZ, CAROL ELAINE · 2015 to 2024
$28.0M
USCADRC Diversity Supplement PachicanoP30AG066530 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI HELENA Chang CHUI, ARTHUR W TOGA · 2020 to 2026
$27.8M
The VETSA Longitudinal MRI Twin Study of AgingR01AG022381 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI KREMEN, WILLIAM S. · 2003 to 2019
$22.3M
Urban Air Pollution and Pathological Brain Aging: A Nationwide Twin Study in MenP01AG055367 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI CHEN, JIU-CHIUAN, FINCH, CALEB E · 2018 to 2022
$11.5M
The VETSA Longitudinal MRI Twin Study of Aging (VETSA MRI 4)R01AG076838 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI ANDERS M DALE, Jeremy A Elman · 2022 to 2026
$8.7M
Genetic Predictors, Transcriptomic Biomarkers, & Neurobiological Signatures of Resilience to Alzheimer's DiseaseR01AG064955 · NIA · UPSTATE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY · PI FENNEMA-NOTESTINE, CHRISTINE, GLATT, STEPHEN J · 2019 to 2023
$3.8M
Linking genetic subtypes of Alzheimer's disease to biological and cognitive heterogeneityK01AG063805 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI ELMAN, JEREMY A · 2021 to 2024
$516k
NIA NIH HHS K01 AG063805NIA NIH HHS P01 AG052350NIA NIH HHS P01 AG055367NIA NIH HHS P30 AG062429NIA NIH HHS P30 AG066530NIA NIH HHS R01 AG022381NIA NIH HHS R01 AG050595NIA NIH HHS R01 AG064955NIA NIH HHS R01 AG076838
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Repeated cognitive testing can boost scores due to practice effects (PEs), yet it remains unclear whether PEs persist across multiple follow-ups and long durations. We examined PEs across multiple assessments from midlife to old age in a nonclinical sample. Method: Men (N=1,608) in the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging (VETSA) underwent neuropsychological assessment comprising 30 measures across 4 waves (~6-year testing intervals) spanning up to 20 years. We leveraged age-matched replacement participants to estimate PEs at each wave. We compared cognitive trajectories and MCI prevalence using unadjusted versus PE-adjusted scores. Results: Across follow-ups, a range of 7-12 tests (out of 30) demonstrated significant PEs, especially in episodic memory and visuospatial domains. Adjusting for PEs resulted in improved detection of cognitive decline and MCI, with up to 20% higher MCI prevalence. Conclusion: PEs persist across multiple assessments and decades underscoring the importance of accounting for PEs in longitudinal studies.

Indexed as

cognitive changelongitudinal testingmild cognitive impairmentpractice effectsrepeat testingserial testing

Identifiers

PMID40585136
PMCPMC12204257

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.