Rates of abnormal test scores in patients with and without neurodegenenerative
diseases 
   Lead Investigator:    Brandon Gavett
   Institution      :    University of Colorado
   E-Mail           :    bgavett@uccs.edu
   Proposal ID      :    526


   Publications:


1  Gavett B, John S
   Rethinking Abnormal Test Scores in Normal People: Application of Base Rate Data to the Individual Patient
   Abstract  Arch Clin Neuropsychol,30(6):594-595,2015,

   PUBLISHED





   Proposal Description:
   Many recent publications have demonstrated that test scores are frequently observed in cognitively healthy samples. However, there are several limitations to these conclusions. Primarily, interpretation of the base rates of abnormal test scores in cognitively healthy samples, while ignoring those same base rates in clinical samples, is likely to be misleading. Very few research papers and test manuals present sufficient data for interpreting these base rates necessary data include test means, standard deviations, and correlation matrices. The current study proposes to examine these three key statistics in several groups: healthy controls, as well as those with dementias of varying etiologies (e.g., Alzheimer's disease, dementia with Lewy Bodies).     Based on these data, Monte Carlo simulation will be used to estimate the expected frequency of normal and abnormal scores across various clinical groupings. The results will be used to help clinicians better understand how to interpret abnormal test scores.