RF1AG063930

SOCIOECONOMIC MEDIATORS OF ADULT BRAIN NETWORK RESILIENCE AND VULNERABILITY TO COGNITIVE DECLINE - PROJECT SUMMARY AGE-RELATED COGNITIVE DECLINE OFTEN BEGINS IN MIDDLE-AGE ADULTHOOD, YET ITS EXPRESSION AND RATE VARY ACROSS INDIVIDUALS. OUR WORK IS FOCUSED ON UNCOVERING THE LIFE COURSE HEALTH, LIFESTYLE AND ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES THAT ALTER THE TRAJECTORY OF BRAIN AND COGNITIVE HEALTH IN MIDDLE-AGED HUMAN ADULTS, AND ON EVALUATING THE IMPACTS OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE (AD)-RELATED PATHOLOGICAL BURDEN AND NEURAL DAMAGE ON THESE BRAIN AND COGNITIVE CHANGES. TO ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS, THE CURRENT PROJECT EXTENDS AND ENHANCES EFFORTS INITIATED IN A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF MIDDLE-AGE ADULTHOOD (AGE 40-64 YEARS AT BASELINE) — THE MIDLIFE BRAIN & ENVIRONMENT STUDY (MBES). WE WILL COLLECT AN ADDITIONAL TIMEPOINT OF BRAIN, COGNITIVE, HEALTH, AND LIFESTYLE DATA IN THE MBES COHORT TO ACHIEVE A TOTAL OF THREE TIMEPOINTS OF DATA OVER 5 YEARS. WE WILL ADDITIONALLY ENROLL AND CONDUCT BASELINE TESTING ON A NEW WAVE (COHORT) OF MIDDLE-AGED ADULT PARTICIPANTS, THUS DOUBLING THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS WE ARE TESTING (N=301). THE PARTICIPANT COHORT INCLUDES INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE AT HIGHER RISK OF COGNITIVE DECLINE AND BRAIN DISEASE. DATA COLLECTION FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL INCLUDES STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL NEUROIMAGING, COGNITIVE AND SENSORY-MOTOR TESTING, BIOSPECIMEN COLLECTION (SALIVA, BLOOD), WEARABLE DEVICES TO MEASURE SLEEP AND ACTIVITY LEVELS, AND SMARTPHONE-BASED COLLECTION OF DAILY DIGITAL DIARIES (ECOLOGICAL MOMENTARY ASSESSMENT) OVER AN EXTENDED PERIOD. THUS, THE PROJECT COMPRISES DEEP PERSONALIZED PHENOTYPING OF BRAIN, COGNITION, HEALTH, LIFESTYLE, AND HEALTH BEHAVIORS. AIM 1 OF THE PROJECT IS FOCUSED ON UNDERSTANDING HOW CHANGES IN LARGE-SCALE FUNCTIONAL BRAIN NETWORK ORGANIZATION (SPECIFICALLY, THE MEASURE OF RESTING-STATE SYSTEM SEGREGATION) AND COGNITIVE ABILITIES VARY ACROSS INDIVIDUALS IN RELATION TO CHANGES IN PHYSIOLOGICAL MEASURES OF STRESS (DEFINED BY CUMULATIVE ALLOSTATIC LOAD [AL]), LIFESTYLE (E.G., SLEEP, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, DIET, COGNITIVE STIMULATION, SOCIAL ACTIVITY, SUBSTANCE USE), AND THEIR INTERACTION. AIM 2 WILL EXAMINE THE CONTRIBUTION OF EARLY LIFE EXPOSURES AND ADVERSITY TOWARDS MIDLIFE BRAIN AND COGNITIVE AGING. AIM 3 WILL ASSESS HOW BLOOD-PLASMA BASED MARKERS OF AD-RELATED BRAIN PATHOLOGY (AΒ42/ AΒ40, P-TAU217) AND NEURAL DAMAGE (NFL, GFAP) RELATE TO BRAIN NETWORK ORGANIZATION, COGNITION, STRESS, AND LIFESTYLE. OUR PRIMARY AIMS INVOLVE: (1) DETERMINING HOW ACCUMULATION OF AL IMPACTS AN INDIVIDUAL’S BRAIN NETWORK ORGANIZATION AND COGNITIVE ABILITIES OVER TIME AND WHETHER THESE IMPACTS ARE BUFFERED BY SPECIFIC BEHAVIORS AND/OR LIFESTYLES, (2) ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF EARLY LIFE FACTORS ON MIDLIFE BRAIN AND COGNITIVE HEALTH AND (3) ASSESSING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AD-PATHOLOGY AND NEURAL DAMAGE ON KEY OUTCOMES OF BRAIN FUNCTION AND COGNITION IN PRE-CLINICAL MIDDLE-AGED ADULTS. THESE ARE CRITICAL STEPS TOWARDS ISOLATING THE MODIFIABLE FACTORS THAT COULD SLOW THE ONSET OF COGNITIVE DECLINE AND DEMENTIA, ADVANCING THE DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL BIOMARKERS OF COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT AND AD, AND DETERMINING THE IMPACTS OF AD-RELATED PATHOLOGY AND NEURAL DAMAGE ON BRAIN FUNCTION AND COGNITION IN MIDDLE-AGED PARTICIPANTS PRIOR TO THE ONSET OF CLINICAL EVENTS.

University Of Texas At Dallas

<P>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.</P>

93.866 - Aging Research

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

Richardson, Texas 750803021 United States

Single Zip Code

Research on Current Topics in Alzheimer's Disease and Its Related Dementias (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) (PAR-25-332)