--- title: "Colorado Adoption/Twin Study of Lifespan behavioral development & cognitive aging (CATSLife)" id: "6544" type: "study" slug: "sa000046" published_at: "2024-03-01T21:00:21+00:00" modified_at: "2026-06-11T16:52:43+00:00" url: "https://dss.niagads.org/studies/sa000046/" markdown_url: "https://dss.niagads.org/studies/sa000046.md" excerpt: "The Colorado Adoption/Twin Study of Lifespan behavioral development & cognitive aging (CATSLife) aims are to: conduct a genetically sensitive study of individual differences in behavioral and cognitive change at the cusp of middle adulthood, in participants from the Colorado Adoption..." --- ## Description The Colorado Adoption/Twin Study of Lifespan behavioral development & cognitive aging (CATSLife) aims are to: conduct a genetically sensitive study of individual differences in behavioral and cognitive change at the cusp of middle adulthood, in participants from the Colorado Adoption Project (CAP) and Longitudinal Twin Study (LTS) studied almost yearly from birth to early adulthood; map individual differences in growth and maintenance of cognitive abilities; evaluate and trace measured physical factors and health behaviors, biochemical markers and measured genetic pathways important to sustaining cognitive performance; and track measured environmental factors that might decrease, sustain or boost cognitive performance. (R01 AG046938 co-PI’s: Reynolds (contact), Wadsworth) ## PI Chandra A. Reynolds, Ph.D. University of Colorado Boulder Sally J. Wadsworth, Ph.D. University of Colorado Boulder ## Associated Datasets - [NG00145 - Colorado Adoption/Twin Study of Lifespan behavioral development & cognitive aging (CATSLife)](https://dss.niagads.org/datasets/ng00145/) The Colorado Adoption/Twin Study of Lifespan behavioral development & cognitive aging (CATSLife) aims are to: conduct a genetically sensitive study of individual differences in behavioral and cognitive change at the… [Learn more](https://dss.niagads.org/datasets/ng00145/) - [NG00185 - DNA methylation in saliva, buffy coat and PBMC samples in CATSLife](https://dss.niagads.org/datasets/ng00185/) As part of the CATSLife project, saliva, buffy coat and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from 89 CATSLife1 participants. Methylation array data were collected using Illumina EPIC methylation… [Learn more](https://dss.niagads.org/datasets/ng00185/) - [NG00187 – Stability of general cognitive ability from infancy to adulthood: A combined twin and genomic investigation – Gustavson et al., 2025](https://dss.niagads.org/datasets/ng00187/) The Colorado Adoption/Twin Study of Lifespan behavioral development & cognitive aging (CATSLife) aims are to: conduct a genetically sensitive study of individual differences in behavioral and cognitive change at the… [Learn more](https://dss.niagads.org/datasets/ng00187/) ## Associated Sample Sets - [snd10078 - CATSLife APOE](https://dss.niagads.org/sample-sets/snd10078/) This data release includes data from 1,245 respondents who provided consent to share data and were included in a study of APOE isoforms and IQ data with up to three… [Learn more](https://dss.niagads.org/sample-sets/snd10078/) - [snd10136 - Stability of general cognitive ability from infancy to adulthood: A combined twin and genomic investigation](https://dss.niagads.org/sample-sets/snd10136/) Analyses were based on 1,098 (552 female, 546 male) individuals who completed at least one relevant wave of the ongoing Colorado Longitudinal Twin Study (LTS). This total included 640 individuals… [Learn more](https://dss.niagads.org/sample-sets/snd10136/) - [snd10140 - DNA methylation in saliva, buffy coat and PBMC samples in CATSLife](https://dss.niagads.org/sample-sets/snd10140/) As part of the CATSLife project, saliva, buffy coat and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from 89 CATSLife1 participants. Methylation array data were collected using Illumina EPIC methylation… [Learn more](https://dss.niagads.org/sample-sets/snd10140/) ## Cohorts - [Colorado Adoption/Twin Study of Lifespan behavioral development & cognitive aging (CATSLife)](https://dss.niagads.org/cohorts/colorado-adoption-twin-study-of-lifespan-behavioral-development-cognitive-aging-catslife/) The Colorado Adoption/Twin Study of Lifespan behavioral development & cognitive aging (CATSLife) aims are to: conduct a genetically sensitive study of individual differences in behavioral and cognitive change at the… [Learn more](https://dss.niagads.org/cohorts/colorado-adoption-twin-study-of-lifespan-behavioral-development-cognitive-aging-catslife/) ## Grants ## Acknowledgement ### Acknowledgment statement for any data distributed by NIAGADS: Data for this study were prepared, archived, and distributed by the National Institute on Aging Alzheimer's Disease Data Storage Site (NIAGADS) at the University of Pennsylvania (U24-AG041689), funded by the National Institute on Aging. ### For investigators using The Colorado Adoption/Twin Study of Lifespan behavioral development & cognitive aging (CATSLife) data: The Colorado Adoption/Twin Study of Lifespan behavioral development & cognitive aging (CATSLife) project is supported by the National Institute on Aging (grant number NIA R01AG046938) and conducted at the University of Colorado Boulder. ## Publications - Reynolds CA. **APOE effects on cognition from childhood to adolescence.***Neurobiology of aging. 2019 Dec.*[PubMed link](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31126628/) - Wadsworth SJ. **CATSLife: A Study of Lifespan Behavioral Development and Cognitive Functioning.***Twin research and human genetics : the official journal of the International Society for Twin Studies. 2019 Dec.*[PubMed link](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31547893/) - Bruellman R. **Differential DNA methylation clock ages across buffy coat (BC), peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), and saliva in individuals in early-to-mid adulthood.***Epigenetics. 2026 Dec 31.*[PubMed link](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41985071/)