This five-year career development plan is designed to further refine the candidate's research skills, enabling her to become an independent and productive researcher focused on the assessment of everyday functional impairments in older adults. The training plan emphasizes three content areas: 1) test development of ecologically valid measures for use with older adults; 2) the integration of structural imaging techniques into neuropsychological research; and 3) research design and statistical analysis. Learning objectives will be met utilizing several training modalities: a) regularly scheduled structured meetings with Sponsors, Mentors, and Consultants; b) formal coursework; c) attendance at regular on-site research colloquia and annual scientific conferences; and d) direct research experience.
The aim of this project is to develop a method of conceptualizing and measuring everyday function that is: 1) grounded in neuroanatomy and neuropsychology, 2) sensitive to a wide spectrum of functional change and; 3) useful in understanding how a multitude of factors can contribute to, and/or mediate everyday function. Study participants will include individuals diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment or dementia, and a sample of cognitively normal older adults. The proposed model of the functional changes associated with dementia has been adapted from the classification system set forth by the World Health Organization (WHO), [96] which describe the consequence of disease at three levels: impairment, disability, and handicap. These levels can be hierarchically arranged wherein 'impairments' (observable, externalized neurological manifestations of disease) are precursors to 'disability' (declines in the ability to carry out activities essential to normal life), which in turn is a precursor to 'handicap' (the social consequence of disease). In this project, all three levels of functional change will be assessed, with a particularly emphasis on assessing functional change at the level of impairment in order to increase the sensitivity to early functional changes associated with the preclinical and early stages of dementia. A new scale will be developed to assess functional impairments, which organizes these impairments into neuropsychologically and neuroanatomically-relevant domains. Measures of disability and preliminary assessment of handicap will also be included to examine the relationship between the different levels functional change set forth in the model.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Type
Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23)
Project #
1K23AG021511-01A1
Application #
6682668
Study Section
National Institute on Aging Initial Review Group (NIA)
Program Officer
Buckholtz, Neil
Project Start
2003-09-30
Project End
2008-08-31
Budget Start
2003-09-30
Budget End
2004-08-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2003
Total Cost
$127,061
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California Davis
Department
Neurology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
047120084
City
Davis
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
95618
Chand, Vineeta; Baynes, Kathleen; Bonnici, Lisa M et al. (2012) A rubric for extracting idea density from oral language samples. Curr Protoc Neurosci Chapter 10:Unit10.5
Farias, Sarah Tomaszewski; Mungas, Dan; Reed, Bruce et al. (2012) Maximal brain size remains an important predictor of cognition in old age, independent of current brain pathology. Neurobiol Aging 33:1758-68
Farias, Sarah Tomaszewski; Chand, Vineeta; Bonnici, Lisa et al. (2012) Idea density measured in late life predicts subsequent cognitive trajectories: implications for the measurement of cognitive reserve. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 67:677-86
Farias, Sarah Tomaszewski; Mungas, Dan; Hinton, Ladson et al. (2011) Demographic, neuropsychological, and functional predictors of rate of longitudinal cognitive decline in Hispanic older adults. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 19:440-50
Farias, Sarah Tomaszewski; Mungas, Dan; Reed, Bruce R et al. (2009) Progression of mild cognitive impairment to dementia in clinic- vs community-based cohorts. Arch Neurol 66:1151-7
Tomaszewski Farias, Sarah; Cahn-Weiner, Deborah A; Harvey, Danielle J et al. (2009) Longitudinal changes in memory and executive functioning are associated with longitudinal change in instrumental activities of daily living in older adults. Clin Neuropsychol 23:446-61
Hinton, Ladson; Tomaszewski Farias, Sarah; Wegelin, Jacob (2008) Neuropsychiatric symptoms are associated with disability in cognitively impaired Latino elderly with and without dementia: results from the Sacramento Area Latino study on Aging. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 23:102-8
Farias, Sarah Tomaszewski; Mungas, Dan; Reed, Bruce R et al. (2008) The measurement of everyday cognition (ECog): scale development and psychometric properties. Neuropsychology 22:531-44
Cahn-Weiner, Deborah A; Farias, Sarah Tomaszewski; Julian, Laura et al. (2007) Cognitive and neuroimaging predictors of instrumental activities of daily living. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 13:747-57
Farias, Sarah T; Mungas, Dan; Reed, Bruce R et al. (2006) MCI is associated with deficits in everyday functioning. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord 20:217-23

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