Bridging big data in the ENIGMA consortium to combine non-equivalent cognitive measures

Investigators in neuroscience have turned to Big Data to address replication and reliability issues by increasing sample size. These efforts unveil new questions about how to integrate data across distinct sources and instruments. The goal of this study was to link scores across common auditory verbal learning tasks (AVLTs). This international secondary analysis aggregated multisite raw data for AVLTs across 53 studies totaling 10,505 individuals. Using the ComBat-GAM algorithm, we isolated and removed the component of memory scores associated with site effects while preserving instrumental effects. After adjustment, a continuous item response theory model used multiple memory items of varying difficulty to estimate each individual's latent verbal learning ability on a single scale. Equivalent raw scores across AVLTs were then found by linking individuals through the ability scale. Harmonization reduced total cross-site score variance by 37% while preserving meaningful memory effects. Age had the largest impact on scores overall (- 11.4%), while race/ethnicity variable was not significant (p > 0.05). The resulting tools were validated on dually administered tests. The conversion tool is available online so researchers and clinicians can convert memory scores across instruments. This work demonstrates that global harmonization initiatives can address reproducibility challenges across the behavioral sciences.

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Publication Details

Journal
Scientific Reports
Published
2024-10-16
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-72968-x
Citations
3
Primary Topic
Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.03

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article

Bridging big data in the ENIGMA consortium to combine non-equivalent cognitive measures

Mary R. Newsome, Jochen Kindler, Stefan Ehrlich, Edith Pomarol‐Clotet et al.
3 citations
Scientific Reports
Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
1.03
article

Bridging big data in the ENIGMA consortium to combine non-equivalent cognitive measures

Mary R. Newsome, Jochen Kindler, Stefan Ehrlich, Edith Pomarol‐Clotet, Tracy R. Melzer, Chantal Michel, Xiaojian Kang, Lars Tjelta Westlye, Celso Arango, Sarah Laskowitz, Jessica A. Turner, Kimbra Kenney, Adrian Wroblewski, Daniel J. Myall, Mon‐Ju Wu, Andreas Jansen, Emilio Werden, Glenn R. Wylie, Federica Piras, David Darby, Filip Španiel, Michael Kaess, Rosa Ayesa‐Arriola, Karolína Knížková, Mabel Rodríguez, Ahmad Mayeli, Martin Alda, Kristen R. Hoskinson, Jonathan Rodríguez, Raymond Salvador, Janik Goltermann, Cassandra Marotta, Terence John O'Brien, Knut K. Kolskår, Krista Wild, Victoria Liou‐Johnson, Sophia I. Thomopoulos, Nancy D. Chiaravalloti, Emily L. Dennis, William S. Kremen, Marius Gruber, Sílvia Alonso-Lana, Dominik Grotegerd, Jun Soo Kwon, Kelly Rootes-Murdy, Rajendra A. Morey, Jean Lengenfelder, Susanne L. Meinert, Carrie Esopenko, Fabrizio Piras, Benedicto Crespo‐Facorro, Benson Mwangi, Nicholas P. Ryan, Vince D. Calhoun, Fabio Ferrarelli, Erin B. Tone, Alfonso Gutiérrez‐Zotes, Lakshmi N. Yatham, Covadonga M. Díaz‐Caneja, Sara M. Lippa, Lea E. Frank, Minah Kim, Jungha Lee, Ivan J. Torres, Karen Caeyenberghs, Jonathan Repple, Amy G. Brodtmann, David F. Tate, Tim Anderson, Helen M. Genova, Alexander Olsen, Veena Kumari, Roberto Langella, Mohamed Salah Khlif, Giovana Zunta‐Soares, Benjamin Straube, Pui‐Wa Lei, Kristine M. Ulrichsen, Geneviève Richard, Florian Thomas‐Odenthal, Eamonn Kennedy, Christopher C. Giza, Daniela Hubl, Minji Ha, Robert F. Asarnow, Laura Bird, Maya Troyanskaya, Mary Jo Pugh, André Schmidt, John C. Dalrymple‐Alford, Jan Haavik, Craig A. Marquardt, Astri J. Lundervold, Víctor Ortiz‐García de la Foz, Hannah M. Lindsey, Igor Nenadić, Andrei Irimia, Guillermo E. Umpierrez, Shashank Vadlamani, John DeLuca, Anne‐Marthe Sanders, Frederike Stein, Lucy E. Vivash, Mihai Avram, Marise B. Parent, Ekaterina Dobryakova, Jared A. Rowland, Udo Dannlowski, Tilo T. J. Kircher, Spencer W. Liebel, Marianne Løvstad, Abraham Nunes, Carrie R. McDonald, John Ollinger, Carol E. Franz, Denise Krch, William C. Walker, Heath Pardoe, Frank Gerard Hillary, Viola Oertel, Katharina Brosch, Barbora Keřková, Nicholas D. Davenport, April Denise Thames, Alena Stasenko, Talin Babikian, Sonia Ambrogi, Stefan Borgwardt, Jair C. Soares, Elisabet Vilella, Elisabeth A. Wilde, Taylor Kuhn, Jessica Merchán‐Naranjo, Paola Fuentes‐Claramonte, Maheen M. Adamson, David X. Cifu, Paulo Mattos, Seth G. Disner, Nerisa Banaj, Paul M. Thompson, Mustafa Ozmen, Kristen Dams-O’Connor, Gianfranco Spalleta, Charles H. Hinkin
article en
3 citations

Abstract

Investigators in neuroscience have turned to Big Data to address replication and reliability issues by increasing sample size. These efforts unveil new questions about how to integrate data across distinct sources and instruments. The goal of this study was to link scores across common auditory verbal learning tasks (AVLTs). This international secondary analysis aggregated multisite raw data for AVLTs across 53 studies totaling 10,505 individuals. Using the ComBat-GAM algorithm, we isolated and removed the component of memory scores associated with site effects while preserving instrumental effects. After adjustment, a continuous item response theory model used multiple memory items of varying difficulty to estimate each individual's latent verbal learning ability on a single scale. Equivalent raw scores across AVLTs were then found by linking individuals through the ability scale. Harmonization reduced total cross-site score variance by 37% while preserving meaningful memory effects. Age had the largest impact on scores overall (- 11.4%), while race/ethnicity variable was not significant (p > 0.05). The resulting tools were validated on dually administered tests. The conversion tool is available online so researchers and clinicians can convert memory scores across instruments. This work demonstrates that global harmonization initiatives can address reproducibility challenges across the behavioral sciences.

Scientific ReportsVol. 14(1)
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US), Goethe University Frankfurt (DE), University of Southern California (US), University of Bern (CH), Oslo University Hospital (NO), Dalhousie University (CA), Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center (US), Georgia Institute of Technology (US), Pennsylvania State University (US), Universidad de Cantabria (ES), Nationwide Children's Hospital (US), The Royal Melbourne Hospital (AU), LAC+USC Medical Center (US), Seoul National University (KR), University of British Columbia (CA), Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (US), Deakin University (AU), Emory University (US), Philipps University of Marburg (DE), University of California, Los Angeles (US), The University of Melbourne (AU), University of Pittsburgh (US), Duke University (US), University of Oregon (US), Baylor College of Medicine (US), Georgia State University (US), Virginia Commonwealth University (US), University of Oslo (NO), University of Basel (CH), University of Canterbury (NZ), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NO), Charles University (CZ), University of Utah (US), Heidelberg University (DE), University of Münster (DE), Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health (AU), Kessler Foundation (US), Ben Taub Hospital (US), Sunnaas sykehus (NO), Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (US), Haukeland University Hospital (NO), Institut Pere Mata (ES), Seoul National University Hospital (KR), The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (US), Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón (ES), Universitat Internacional de Catalunya (ES), University of California San Diego (US), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (ES), New Zealand Brain Research Institute (NZ), Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital (ES), Antalya Bilim University (TR), Institut de Recerca Biomèdica Catalunya Sud (ES), D’Or Institute for Research and Education (BR), St Olav's University Hospital (NO), W. G. (Bill) Hefner VA Medical Center (US), Instituto de Investigación Marqués de Valdecilla (ES), Phoenix VA Health Care System (US), Minneapolis VA Health Care System (US), Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Centers (US), Durham VA Health Care System (US), BC Mental Health & Substance Use Services (CA), Fidmag Sisters Hospitallers (ES), Tisch Hospital (US), University Hospital Frankfurt (DE), Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (ES), Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (US), Mattel Children's Hospital (US), University of Minnesota Medical Center (US), Stanford Medicine (US), VA Central California Health Care System (US), Fondazione Santa Lucia (IT), Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío (ES), National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (US), VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (US), Alfred Health (AU), George E. Wahlen Department of VA Medical Center (US), Imaging Center (US), National Institute of Mental Health (CZ), Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (US), University of Bergen (NO), Wake Forest University (US), The Ohio State University (US), Universitat Rovira i Virgili (ES), Monash University (AU), Brunel University of London (GB), Technische Universität Dresden (DE), Universidad de Sevilla (ES), University of Otago (NZ), Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center (US), The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (US), University of Lübeck (DE), Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (US)
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Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
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