R01AG070139

Neural and Motivational Mechanisms of Age-Related Change in Emotion Regulation - Project Summary

In the progression from middle to older age, healthy adults typically experience improvements in their emotional functioning, such as increases in positive emotion and greater expertise in managing emotions. However, not everyone shows these age-related improvements, and the mechanisms that give rise to emotional functioning changes across adulthood are still poorly understood.

The primary goal of this project is to examine the critical factors that promote positive emotional development in normative aging and to test whether depression history might moderate this process as a key trait individual difference marker. To this end, we test our proposed value-based cognitive control model of emotion regulation in adulthood (VBCC-MERIAD). The VBCC-MERIAD framework suggests a novel insight: that interactions between reward motivation and cognitive control play a central role in understanding both the normative trajectory of emotional functioning in older adults and, conversely, why and how individuals with depression histories may get "off track".

We focus on effectively upregulating positive emotion, given that older adults prioritize positive emotion goals and because depression is characterized by blunted reward processing. Our primary hypothesis is that positive emotion regulation (ER) abilities will rely upon the integrity of fronto-striatal circuitry (i.e., activity and connectivity between the lateral prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens/ventral striatum). Engagement of this circuit is predicted to reflect the utilization of reward motivation as a means of engaging cognitive control (i.e., to update and maintain ER goals).

Across three specific aims, we propose to characterize the mechanisms of ER in middle-aged and older adults (35-74), focusing on neural and behavioral indicators of motivation and cognitive control that predict daily emotional functioning and potential dysregulation in individuals with depression history. To achieve these aims, we will employ a multi-method design involving functional neuroimaging measures, laboratory behavioral assessments, and experience sampling methods.

The sample (N=220) will include an ethnically/racially diverse set of adults (66% women) of ages 35-74, equally subdivided into two groups: healthy controls and people with depression histories. A state-of-the-art neuroimaging protocol will assess brain activity associated with different ER strategies and test for linkages with reward-motivated cognitive control. The comprehensive laboratory assessments will include diagnostic interviewing, self-report measures, cognitive functioning batteries, and a standardized ER task with measures of autonomic reactivity and behavioral coding of emotion. The experience sampling protocol will provide a naturalistic, ecologically valid assessment of participants' emotional experiences, goals, and regulatory strategies.

The proposed research will dramatically extend our understanding of both normative and dysfunctional age-related change in emotional function by identifying mechanisms that promote positive ER in late adulthood. In so doing, we will lay the foundation for new interventions to improve the quality of life for healthy older adults and preventative therapeutic targets for individuals with depression history.

Washington University

TO ENCOURAGE BIOMEDICAL, SOCIAL, AND BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING DIRECTED TOWARD GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF THE AGING PROCESS AND THE DISEASES, SPECIAL PROBLEMS, AND NEEDS OF PEOPLE AS THEY AGE. THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING HAS ESTABLISHED PROGRAMS TO PURSUE THESE GOALS. THE DIVISION OF AGING BIOLOGY EMPHASIZES UNDERSTANDING THE BASIC BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES OF AGING. THE DIVISION OF GERIATRICS AND CLINICAL GERONTOLOGY SUPPORTS RESEARCH TO IMPROVE THE ABILITIES OF HEALTH CARE PRACTITIONERS TO RESPOND TO THE DISEASES AND OTHER CLINICAL PROBLEMS OF OLDER PEOPLE. THE DIVISION OF BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL RESEARCH SUPPORTS RESEARCH THAT WILL LEAD TO GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF THE SOCIAL, CULTURAL, ECONOMIC AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS THAT AFFECT BOTH THE PROCESS OF GROWING OLD AND THE PLACE OF OLDER PEOPLE IN SOCIETY. THE DIVISION OF NEUROSCIENCE FOSTERS RESEARCH CONCERNED WITH THE AGE-RELATED CHANGES IN THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AS WELL AS THE RELATED SENSORY, PERCEPTUAL, AND COGNITIVE PROCESSES ASSOCIATED WITH AGING AND HAS A SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM: TO EXPAND AND IMPROVE THE SBIR PROGRAM, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, TO INCREASE SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM: TO STIMULATE AND FOSTER SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION THROUGH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT CARRIED OUT BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO FOSTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION.

93.866 - Aging Research

National Institute on Aging (NIA) [HHS - NIH]

Saint Louis, Missouri 63130 United States

Single Zip Code

Emotional Function in Normal Aging and/or MCI and AD/ADRD (R01 - Clinical Trial Optional) (PAR-18-581)

Amendment Since initial award the End Date has been extended from 01/31/26 to 01/31/27 and the total obligations have increased 602% from $524,110 to $3,676,862.