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In this study, we examined the relationship between within-person blood pressure and cognitive functioning. We conducted an analysis on 36 community-dwelling elderly individuals (age range = 60-87 years). Participants measured their blood pressure and completed cognitive tasks (i.e., the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Task, the Letter Series test, and the Number Comparison test) twice a day over 60 consecutive days. We observed a significant interaction between within-person change in blood pressure and average blood pressure for the Letter Series test. Individuals with high blood pressure tended to perform poorly, particularly on occasions when their blood pressure level was above their personal average. These results demonstrate that the relationship between blood pressure and cognition at the between-person level and the relationship within each individual should be further explored simultaneously. Key Words: Blood pressure--Cognition--Variability--Aging.

This study examined the relationship between elders' cognitive performance and self-reported trouble falling asleep. Analyses were conducted on 174 older independently living, community dwelling African Americans (M age = 72.74; range = 65 to 90). Cognitive performance was measured using the Mini-Mental State Examination, Forward Digit Span task, Backward Digit Span task, Alpha Span task, and California Verbal Learning Test. Results suggested that individuals who reported trouble falling asleep tended to perform significantly worse than individuals who did not report trouble falling asleep on measures tapping short-term memory and working memory after controlling for age, education, gender, depression, and current health. These results demonstrate that a self-report of sleep difficulty may be a unique predictor of cognitive performance. Keywords: African Americans; cognition; falling asleep; sleep

The knowledge gained from studying diverse populations should help to address inequities and prepare us to deal with the needs of the increasing number of older minorities in this country. At the same time, research that is not properly conducted threatens to lead us astray and misconstrue relationships and outcomes related to behavioral aspects of aging. In this article, we propose that simple comparisons between groups are neither necessary nor sufficient to advance our understanding of ethnic minorities. We discuss common pitfalls conducted in group-differences research, including a specific treatment on the issue of statistical power issues. Our goal is to encourage the use of multiple methodological designs in the study of issues related to racial and ethnic minorities by demonstrating some of the advantages of lesser employed approaches. Key Words: Ethnicity--Minorities--Racial comparisons--Models of group differences--Statistical power.

This study used latent variable growth curve modeling to identify predictors and correlates of verbal learning over trials on a list-learning task in patients with dementia. Data from 116 patients evaluated at the Detroit satellite of the Michigan Alzheimer's Disease Research Center were incorporated in the present analyses. Patients were administered the Fuld Object Memory Evaluation, examined independently by a geriatrician, and, if appropriate, given a diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease according to criteria from the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke/Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association. The presence of dementia significantly predicted both the intercept (i.e., level of performance) and the slope (i.e., learning over trials), with dementia patients demonstrating lower overall levels of performance and less verbal learning over trials. Rate of verbal learning over trials was a significant predictor of everyday functioning (instrumental activities of daily living) above and beyond general cognitive impairment and demographics.

A study that will examine whether measures of health status enhance the prediction performance on everyday problem solving in adult African Americans is presented. The results show that health indices contribute to the variability in everyday cognition in this understudied population.

Research with well- and ill-defined problems disclosed over half the variance in older adults' instrumental functioning and are better predictors of everyday functioning than many psychometric cognitive measures. Both kinds of problems were presented for financial management, medication use, and food preparation and nutrition, with both kinds showing moderate interrelation.

The relationship between older adults' daily cognitive performance and mortality is examined with the help of the Everyday Cognition Battery. It was seen that participants who had performed significantly worse in the testing and since died as compared with participants who were still living.

Healthy normotensive men and women are assessed for emotions and cardiovascular functioning considering individual differences in social connectedness and moods, positive and negative emotions systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). The results suggest that it is the dynamic interplay between trait and state variables that provides substantive insight into the importance of social connectedness and positive emotions in later life.

A study examined consistency of performance, or individual variability, in older adults' performance on three measures of cognitive functioning, namely inductive reasoning, memory and perceptual speed. Analysis reveals that a higher level of intraindividual variability is positively associated with the magnitude of a person's practice-related gain on a particular measure.

A sample of monozygotic and same-sex dizygotic twin pairs, aged 80 and above were assessed over a period of 6-year period, to study the change in cognitive abilities. The results highlighted many challenges for estimating genetic sources of variance with respect to compromised health and mortality-related change.

A number of basic abilities, along with measures of domain-specific knowledge, predict everyday cognitive performance in older adults, according to research designed to investigate the connection between a new battery of everyday cognition measures and traditional psychometric tests of the same basic cognitive skills. An analysis of the new battery's measurement properties indicated that the component measures were reliable and valid assessments of the everyday cognitive ability of older adults. The hypothesized ability-specificity of relationships between traditional and everyday cognitive measures did not occur.