R37AG057739

Social networks in Alzheimer disease 2.0.

- Project summary

The goal of this renewal of the Social Networks and Alzheimer’s Disease Study (R01 AG057739) is to understand the social and biological mechanisms underlying the role of social connectedness in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD).

This longitudinal study leverages a cohort of older adults with early stage ADRD, MCI, and age-matched cognitively normal controls (N=609) established in 2015 and followed annually through 2023.

The SNAD study features high dimensional characterization of personal social networks, relationships, environments, and activities obtained via in-home interviews, integrating these data with clinical consensus diagnosis, extensive cognitive testing, genotyping, and functional and structural neuroimaging data collected annually through the NIA-sponsored Indiana Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.

Findings from SNAD reveal robust and extensive cognitive and neurological benefits of social bridging, or access to an expansive and diverse set of loosely connected individuals.

As a form of cognitive enrichment, social bridging may be protective of cognitive decline through the development of cognitive reserve (CR), or cognitive adaptability that buffers the impact of brain pathology on cognitive function.

In addition to producing novel insights, SNAD raised new research questions and revealed data limitations that necessitate a second project period and additional longitudinal follow up.

In the next phase of the study, we propose to increase sample size and extend the follow-up period, increase racial and socioeconomic diversity in the cohort, and collect additional data on stress exposures over the life course to test novel mechanisms through stress pathways.

Aim 1 is to conduct long-term follow-ups of the SNAD cohort to examine longitudinal relationships between personal social network dynamics, neurodegenerative changes, and clinical conversion to MCI or ADRD.

Aim 2 is to diversify the SNAD cohort to determine whether observed associations between social network characteristics and clinical cognitive decline are replicable in communities at high risk for ADRD.

Aim 3 is to explore mediating and moderating relationships between social network characteristics, stress exposures, and cognitive decline.

The SNAD study is interdisciplinary, combining leading-edge methods from the social and biomedical sciences, and leveraging the resources of funded centers for ADRD, neuroimaging, and sociomedical sciences.

By increasing our understanding of the links between biological and social processes, this project may help identify novel targets for intervention to reduce the burden of ADRD on individuals, families, and the health care system.

Trustees Of Indiana 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]

Bloomington, Indiana 474053700 United States

Single Zip Code

NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (PA-20-185)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 8017% from $9,218 to $748,213.