<p>Hello FITBIR Community, The Quicksilver release was deployed on 04/29/2023. Click this link (https://fitbir.nih.gov/sites/fitbir/files/2023-04/Quicksilver%20Release%20Notes.pdf) for a high-level summary of the new and modified features and functionality in FITBIR. Regards, FITBIR Operations</p>

<p>Hello FITBIR Community, Dr. Kennedy and his team from the University of Utah Health&nbsp;have created a tool to create a crosswalk between the verbal learning tests which are common in TBI and other neurological disorders. This tool will allow someone to estimate or convert scores between the measures which will be convenient for investigators who want to combine data from projects that used different measures. This conversion tool is posted at&nbsp;http://verbal-learning.chpc.utah.edu/.&nbsp; Following is the abstract for a paper that is currently under review that describes the work in more detail. Motivation:&nbsp;Auditory verbal learning tasks (AVLTs) are a core component of neuropsychological assessment, but the variety of AVLTs in common use makes it difficult to compare scores across instruments. This limits integration of research findings. The objective of this study was to derive and disseminate crosswalks that directly equate raw scores across common AVLTs. Methods:&nbsp;A large, international repository of raw AVLT data was compiled, and a multisite mega study analysis was conducted. Empirical Bayes harmonization was used to isolate and remove site effects, followed by linear models which adjusted for covariates, including age, sex, education, and race/ethnicity. After corrections, a continuous item response theory (IRT) model was then used to estimate each individual subject&rsquo;s latent verbal learning ability while accounting for different item difficulties. Results:&nbsp;We aggregated raw data from studies of clinical samples and healthy controls from around the world that measured at least one verbal learning task. After applying exclusion criteria, the final sample was comprised of N = 10,505 individuals with and without history of traumatic brain injury from 53 studies above the age of 16 years who were tested on the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT), Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT), or the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R). Harmonization significantly reduced inter-site variance by 37% while preserving covariate effects for further study. The effects of age, sex, and education on scores were reported and were found to be consistent across all AVLTs. Crosswalks were created by linking scores of individuals with the same verbal learning ability across AVLTs. The derived conversions agreed with held-out data of dually-administered tests. Conclusion:&nbsp;This study reports the co-calibration and validation of methods to harmonize raw scores across three common verbal learning instruments. Moreover, we developed a free online tool for cross-assessment raw score conversion. These methods address longstanding data compatibility issues for AVLTs, and offer perspectives on how large-scale data harmonization initiatives can increase the robustness and reproducibility of research and findings across the behavioral sciences. &nbsp; &nbsp;</p>

<p>Hello FITBIR Community, Representatives from FITBIR Operations will be in attendance at the 40th Annual Symposium hosted by the National Neurotrauma Society in Austin, TX from 06/25-06/28.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Hello FITBIR Community, This message is to notify you that the FITBIR Portal site will be deploying the Researcher Auth Service (RAS) for log-in.&nbsp;After deployment, please follow the instructions on the FITBIR public site, https://fitbir.nih.gov/access-with-ras to link your current FITBIR account. The FITBIR Portal and Public sites will be unavailable from 8:00 AM through 12:00 PM ET, Friday, December 8, 2023, due to the release of new system functionality. Please feel free to reach out to FITBIR Operations if you have any questions (fitbirops@mail.nih.gov). &nbsp; &nbsp;</p>