This application for a Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23) is designed to provide the candidate with advanced skills needed to establish an independent program of research in the cognitive neuroscience of aging and dementia risk. The candidate proposes a five-year comprehensive training plan that combines advanced skill training, didactics, and formal instruction with a team of mentors and advisors. Specific training goals include expanding established skill sets and in developing expertise in the following areas: 1) novel structural neuroimaging methodologies, 2) theoretical and applied aspects of cognitive neuroscience research, specifically as they relate to cognitive aging and dementia risk, and 3) the integration of these methodologies to better understand the relationship between brain structure and function in the context of specific risk factors for dementia. The Mentorship team, which includes individuals with expertise in cognitive neuropsychology, neuroimaging, experimental psychology, cognitive aging, dementia and epidemiology, coupled with the training environments of Brigham and Women's Hospital, the VA Boston Healthcare System, and the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging will ensure superb instruction in these three areas. The proposed research project will integrate advanced methods of morphological measurement of gray matter, novel diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measures of white matter (WM) microstructure, and neuropsychological testing to better understand the impact of dementia risk factors on structure and function. The project has three specific aims, including: 1) determining the association among the integrity of underlying gray matter, cognition, and risk factors for AD and CVD, 2) determining the association among the integrity of WM microstructure, cognition, and risk factors, and 3) examining these relationships longitudinally. These data will further elucidate the neuroanatomical and neuropsychological characteristics associated with risk factors and will provide unique information regarding structure-function relationships that may exist long before a clinical disease process begins. Collectively, the career training and research components described in this application will allow the candidate to emerge as an independent investigator conducting neuroanatomical and neuropsychological studies of aging and risk for cognitive decline.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23)
Project #
3K23NS062148-02S2
Application #
7873141
Study Section
NST-2 Subcommittee (NST)
Program Officer
Corriveau, Roderick A
Project Start
2008-08-01
Project End
2010-02-28
Budget Start
2009-09-15
Budget End
2010-02-28
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2009
Total Cost
$6,137
Indirect Cost
Name
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Department
Type
DUNS #
030811269
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02115
Leritz, Elizabeth C; McGlinchey, Regina E; Salat, David H et al. (2016) Elevated levels of serum cholesterol are associated with better performance on tasks of episodic memory. Metab Brain Dis 31:465-73
Foley, Jessica M; Salat, David H; Stricker, Nikki H et al. (2016) Glucose Dysregulation Interacts With APOE-?4 to Potentiate Temporoparietal Cortical Thinning. Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen 31:76-86
Stricker, Nikki H; Salat, David H; Kuhn, Taylor P et al. (2016) Mild Cognitive Impairment is Associated With White Matter Integrity Changes in Late-Myelinating Regions Within the Corpus Callosum. Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen 31:68-75
Corbo, Vincent; Salat, David H; Amick, Melissa M et al. (2014) Reduced cortical thickness in veterans exposed to early life trauma. Psychiatry Res 223:53-60
Foley, Jessica M; Salat, David H; Stricker, Nikki H et al. (2014) Interactive effects of apolipoprotein E4 and diabetes risk on later myelinating white matter regions in neurologically healthy older aged adults. Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen 29:222-35
Leritz, Elizabeth C; Shepel, Juli; Williams, Victoria J et al. (2014) Associations between T1 white matter lesion volume and regional white matter microstructure in aging. Hum Brain Mapp 35:1085-100
Fortier, Catherine B; Leritz, Elizabeth C; Salat, David H et al. (2014) Widespread effects of alcohol on white matter microstructure. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 38:2925-33
Jacobs, Heidi I L; Leritz, Elizabeth C; Williams, Victoria J et al. (2013) Association between white matter microstructure, executive functions, and processing speed in older adults: the impact of vascular health. Hum Brain Mapp 34:77-95
Stricker, Nikki H; Salat, David H; Foley, Jessica M et al. (2013) Decreased white matter integrity in neuropsychologically defined mild cognitive impairment is independent of cortical thinning. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 19:925-37
Williams, Victoria J; Leritz, Elizabeth C; Shepel, Juli et al. (2013) Interindividual variation in serum cholesterol is associated with regional white matter tissue integrity in older adults. Hum Brain Mapp 34:1826-41

Showing the most recent 10 out of 16 publications