Advances in Methodology in Geriatric Mental Health: Application to Studies of Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders

Abstract

Looking back to 1993, the articles published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry's inaugural issue focused on central questions in geriatric psychiatry-from how age-related changes in brain structure and function affect illness etiology, expression, course, and outcomes(1) to how best to identify and address the unmet mental health needs in different populations of older adult.(2) Today's journal reflects both an enduring commitment to these questions and the growth of the field itself, both in terms of scientific advancement and the breadth of research that is relevant. Thus, questions with pressing clinical and public health significance continue to be addressed but with increasing sophistication in specificity to the questions and the availability of tools to investigate them.