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Genes, Environment, and Time: The Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging (VETSA)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2012

William S. Kremen ,
Heather Thompson-Brenner ,
Yat-Ming J. Leung ,
Michael D. Grant ,
Carol E. Franz ,
Seth A. Eisen ,
Kristen C. Jacobson ,
Corwin Boake  and
Michael J. Lyons
William S. Kremen
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, California, United States of America.
Heather Thompson-Brenner
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Yat-Ming J. Leung
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Michael D. Grant
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Carol E. Franz
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, California, United States of America.
Seth A. Eisen
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, VA Medical Center, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America.
Kristen C. Jacobson
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States of America.
Corwin Boake
Affiliation:
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Texas, Houston, United States of America.
Michael J. Lyons*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America. [email protected]
*
*Address for correspondence: Michael J. Lyons, Department of Psychology, Boston University, 648 Beacon St, Boston, MA 02215, USA.

Abstract

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The Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging (VETSA) is a large-scale investigation of cognitive aging from middle to later age. The intended sample of 1440 twin subjects is recruited from the Vietnam Era Twin Registry (VETR), a registry of middle-aged male-male twin pairs who both served in the military during the Vietnam conflict (1965–1975). VETSA employs a multitrait multimethod approach to cognitive assessment to focus on the genetic and environmental contributions to cognitive processes over time, as well as the relative contributions to cognitive aging from health, social, personality, and other contextual factors. The cognitive domains of episodic memory, working memory, abstract reasoning, and inhibitory executive functioning are assessed through neuropsychological testing. In addition, VETSA obtains the participant's score on the Armed Forces Qualification Test, taken at the time of induction into the military around age 20 years, and readministers the test. Two other projects — VETSA Cortisol and VETSA Magnetic Resonance Imaging — are also in progress using subsamples of the VETSA twins. Prior waves of data collection by VETSA investigators using the VETR have provided historical data on physical and mental health, while future waves of VETSA data collection are planned every 5 years. These methods will provide data on multiple pheno-types in the same individuals with regard to genetic and environmental contributions to cognitive functioning over time, personality and interpersonal risk and protective factors, stress and cortisol regulation, and structural brain correlates of aging processes.

Type
Articles/United States of America
Information
Twin Research and Human Genetics , Volume 9 , Issue 6 , 01 December 2006 , pp. 1009 - 1022
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006