2025 Annual Frank L. LeFever Spring Conference

Live, Online ¨ 5/7/25 ¨ 6-9 pm EDT

Innovations in Neuropsychology

 

Stephanie Ruth Young, PhD

Technology Enhanced Practice: An Introduction to the NIH Toolbox Family of Assessments

Laura Thi Germine, PhD

Dynamic assessment of cognition and behavior in health and disease

Liz Angoff, PhD

AI for Report Writing: Making reports efficient, affirming and accessible for all

REGISTRATION

Members: $50, which includes attendance & 3 CE credits*

Student Members: FREE

Non-members: $100, which includes attendance & 3 CE credits*

*New York Neuropsychology Group is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0107. New York Neuropsychology Group is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. NYNG maintains responsibility for this program and its content. CE credits will be awarded to paid registrants who attend the majority of the conference.

 

The AI generated Image above was obtained from https://stockcake.com/i/illuminated-neural-brilliance_1785523_1242460

Stephanie Ruth Young, PhD

Technology Enhanced Practice: An Introduction to the NIH Toolbox Family of Assessments

Abstract: Despite technological advancements across various fields, most neuropsychologists continue to rely on traditional paper-and-pencil assessment methods. While these tools have been used for decades, standardized administration and scoring errors are the rule, not the exception. Such errors can have significant consequences, leading to misdiagnosis and inappropriate intervention planning. Technology-based assessment tools can help overcome these barriers by enhancing accuracy and efficiency through automated administration and scoring, reducing examiner cognitive load, and capturing more nuanced data. This presentation introduces the NIH Toolbox (NIHTB) family of technology-based assessments, including the standard tablet-based NIHTB V3 for ages 3–85+, the Baby Toolbox for infants and toddlers (1–42 months), and the Mobile Toolbox for smartphone-based self-administration. We also touch on two clinical tools designed to screen for cognitive impairment in older adults during primary care visits: MyCog and MyCog Mobile.  We will review the domains covered by each tool, their psychometric properties, and appropriate use cases. By reducing costs, improving accuracy, and leveraging technological efficiencies, these digital tools have the potential to expand neuropsychological research and practice, allowing neuropsychologists to operate at the top of their licensure.

Stephanie Ruth Young is a licensed psychologist and Assistant Professor of Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. Clinically trained as a bilingual pediatric neuropsychologist (Spanish-English), she earned her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin, completed her clinical internship at Dell Children's Medical Center, and her clinical fellowship at Children's Hospital Colorado. Since joining Northwestern in 2021, her research has focused on advancing the accuracy and efficiency of psychological assessments for clinical workflows. To this end, her team has created and validated dozens of assessments of various domains of functioning, designed for the youngest infants to the oldest adults. Dr. Young serves as Multiple Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator on several large NIH-funded projects and published 14 journal articles related to this work in 2024 alone. Her research is directly informed by her clinical experience and background; she is especially passionate about collaborating with clinical neuropsychologists to help better serve patients and families through translational research.

Learning Objectives:

• 1.       Describe limitations of traditional paper-and-pencil neuropsychological assessment methods.
• 2.       Explain how technology-based assessment tools can improve the accuracy and efficiency of neuropsychological evaluation.
• 3.       Compare and contrast the different NIH Toolbox assessment platforms and their appropriate use cases across the lifespan.

DEI: The NIH Toolbox assessments prioritize inclusivity for diverse populations, and were validated with samples that approximate U.S. census demographics for sex, race, ethnicity, and education level. The tools are designed to be highly accessible for both participants and researchers, including Spanish language availability and the affordable non-profit subscription model that reduces socioeconomic barriers to implementation. Additionally, new remote assessment technologies offered through the Mobile Toolbox can increase research participation from traditionally underrepresented populations by eliminating barriers to in-person assessment.

Financial disclosures:none

References:

Fox, R. S., Zhang, M., Amagai, S., Bassard, A., Dworak, E. M., Han, Y. C., ... & Gershon, R. C. (2022). Uses of the NIH Toolbox® in clinical samples: a scoping review. Neurology: Clinical Practice, 12(4), 307-319.

Gershon, R., Novack, M. A., & Kaat, A. J. (2024). The NIH Infant and Toddler Toolbox: A new standardized tool for assessing neurodevelopment in children ages 1–42 months. Child Development, 95(6), 2252–2254. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.14135

Gershon, R. C., Sliwinski, M. J., Mangravite, L., King, J. W., Kaat, A. J., Weiner, M. W., & MRentz, D. (2022). The Mobile Toolbox for monitoring cognitive function. The Lancet. Neurology, 21(7), 589.

Young, S. R., Dworak, E. M., Byrne, G. J., Jones, C. M., Yao, L., Benavente, J. N. Y., ... & Nowinski, C. J. (2024). Remote self-administration of cognitive screeners for older adults prior to a primary care visit: pilot cross-sectional study of the Reliability and usability of the Mycog mobile screening App. JMIR Formative Research, 8(1), e54299.

Young, S. R., Maddocks, D. L. S., & Caemmerer, J. M. (2022). Computer-enhanced practice: The benefits of computer-assisted assessment in applied clinical practice. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1037/pro0000449

Laura Thi Germine, PhD

Dynamic assessment of cognition and behavior in health and disease

Abstract: This talk will cover characteristics and capabilities of next-generation cognitive and behavioral assessment approaches for evaluating cognition across the lifespan, based on 20 years of digital cognitive assessment through the TestMyBrain digital research platform and associated digital toolkits. First, the talk will provide an overview of approaches for supporting accessibility and engagement, particularly in research studies that rely on broad-scale, remote assessment. Second, the talk will discuss approaches and analytic models for capturing dynamic cognitive characteristics from brief assessments administered over multiple timepoints, which can improve sensitivity to transient forms of cognitive dysfunction (e.g., during glucose excursions in diabetes) or early cognitive decline (e.g., preclinical AD/ADRD). Finally, this talk will identify key opportunities for scalable cognitive assessment and population-level risk evaluation that address barriers to accessibility, equity, and generalizability.  

Laura Thi Germine, PhD is Director of the Laboratory for Brain and Cognitive Health Technology at McLean Hospital and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.  At McLean, Laura also serves as Co-Director of the Institute for Technology in Psychiatry. She created one of the first online neuropsychological laboratories in 2005, which became TestMyBrain in 2008.  Through TestMyBrain, her group has collected data from over 3 million participants worldwide.  In 2015, she founded the Many Brains Project, a 501c3 nonprofit to provide infrastructure for open-source cognitive test development.  Today, her program at Harvard, McLean, and the Many Brains Project supports over 2200 studies and researchers in over 40 countries.

Learning Objectives:

• 1.       Identify 2-3 approaches for increasing engagement in cognitive assessment.
• 2.       Describe limitations of single time point cognitive assessment.
• 3.       Describe methods for high-frequency cognitive assessment to support cognitive monitoring.
• 4.       Identify 2-3 dynamic cognitive features that can be derived from high-frequency longitudinal cognitive performance data that are meaningfully-related with cognitive health.

DEI:A key aspect of the talk is approaches that increase accessibility of cognitive assessment tools, which is a key factor in diversity and inclusion for research studies. The talk will also approach engagement from a participant or patient-centered perspective that acknowledges and supports the goals of individual patients and participants.

Financial disclosure: President and Director of the Many Brains Project, a nonprofit 501c3. Research program funded by the National Institutes of Health, including NIDDK, NIA, and NIMH.

References:

Germine, L., Reinecke, K., & Chaytor, N. S. (2019). Digital neuropsychology: Challenges and opportunities at the intersection of science and software. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 33(2), 271-286.

Germine, L., Strong, R. W., Singh, S., & Sliwinski, M. J. (2021). Toward dynamic phenotypes and the scalable measurement of human behavior. Neuropsychopharmacology, 46(1), 209-216.

Hawks, Z. W., Strong, R., Jung, L., Beck, E. D., Passell, E. J., Grinspoon, E., ... & Germine, L. T. (2023). Accurate prediction of momentary cognition from intensive longitudinal data. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 8(8), 841-851.

Hawks, Z. W., Beck, E. D., Jung, L., Fonseca, L. M., Sliwinski, M. J., Weinstock, R. S., ... & Germine, L. T. (2024). Dynamic associations between glucose and ecological momentary cognition in Type 1 Diabetes. npj Digital Medicine, 7(1), 59.

Fonseca, L. M., Hawks, Z. W., Beeri, M. S., Jung, L., Kudva, Y., Rizvi, S., ... & Chaytor, N. S. (2025). Cognitive vulnerability to glucose fluctuations: A digital phenotype of neurodegeneration. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 21(2), e70001.

 

Liz Angoff, PhD

AI for Report Writing: Making reports efficient, affirming and accessible for all

Abstract: As part of our assessment practice, we write detailed reports...that very few people ever read.  AI can change that. Participants in this workshop will learn how use AI tools to efficiently write accessible and affirming neuropsychological reports that everyone will read and, more importantly, understand. Using a variety of AI tools, participants in this workshop will learn how to turn notes into flowing paragraphs, automatically create the background section of our reports, summarize records, create an easy-to-read report summary, and generate real-world examples to illustrate complex concepts.  In short, this workshop will transform your report-writing practice! 

Liz Angoff, Ph.D. is a Licensed Educational Psychologist with a Diplomate in School Neuropsychology, providing assessment and consultation services to children and their families in the Bay Area, CA.  She is the author of the Brain Building Books, tools for engaging children in understanding their learning and developmental differences as part of the assessment process. More information about Dr. Liz and her work is available at www.ExplainingBrains.com.

Learning Objectives:

• 1.       Identify 2-3 potentials and pitfalls of using AI for report writing.
• 2.       Describe how AI tools can inform reports with accessible formatting and language.
• 3.       Use AI tools to create flowing paragraphs from notes.
• 4.       Create metaphors and real world examples for families using AI tools.

DEI: This talk aims to make reports more accessible to neurodivergent adults.

Financial disclosures: I am the author and publisher of the Brain Building Books.   I have an affiliate relationship with Bastion.

References:

Cascella, M., Semeraro, F., Montomoli, J., Bellini, V., Piazza, O., & Bignami, E. (2024). The breakthrough of large language models release for medical applications: 1-year timeline and perspectives. Journal of Medical Systems, 48(1), 22.

Farmer, R. L., Lockwood, A., Goforth, A., & Thomas, C. (2024). Artificial intelligence in practice: Opportunities, challenges, and ethical considerations. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/6hn4f

Haenlein, M.l & Kaplan, A. (2019). A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence: On the Past, Present, and Future of Artificial Intelligence. California Management Review. 61. 000812561986492. 10.1177/0008125619864925.

Kohane, I. S. (2023). Injecting Artificial Intelligence into Medicine. NEJM AI, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.1056/AIe2300197

Mirza, F. N., Tang, O. Y., Connolly, I. D., Abdulrazeq, H. A., Lim, R. K., Roye, G. D., Priebe, C., Chandler, C., Libby, T. J., Groff, M. W., Shin, J. H., Telfeian, A. E., Doberstein, C. E., Asaad, W. F., Gokaslan, Z. L., Zou, J., & Ali, R. (2024). Using ChatGPT to Facilitate Truly Informed Medical Consent. *NEJM AI*, 1(2). https://doi.org/10.1056/AIcs2300145