The ability to instantiate and maintain goal representations in short-term (?working?) memory (WM) is central to human capacities for flexible thought and goal-directed behavior. Critically, human aging is associated with a decline in the ability to control what gains access to and is maintained in WM (?executive? hypothesis of aging). While the executive hypothesis has been well-studied in recent years in context of neurocognitive aging, it remains poorly understood whether these changes are consequential to goal-directed behavior in daily life. As a novel approach to this issue, in the present set of studies we will examine the contribution of brain imaging, lab-based, and momentary (i.e. daily/within-day) assessments of WM to self-regulation of health promotion behavior (specifically, physical activity). Recent evidence shows that individual differences in executive control are a primary determinant of an individual?s ability to successfully translate physical activity goals into daily behavior (i.e. self-regulatory capacity). However, this has been understudied in middle-aged and older adults in whom the efficiency of WM and affiliated brain networks are subject to alteration. An important next step is to examine WM and self-regulation at the level of behavior in naturalistic settings. The NIH/NIA K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award is being sought to provide the PI training in ambulatory measurement methodology (ecological momentary assessments, EMA) and the resources to conduct a novel longitudinal study of younger, middle-aged, and older adults focused on the role of momentary WM abilities in self-regulation of physical activity. The use of smart phone-based EMA will provide a glimpse into the daily lives of study participants, providing a novel opportunity to examine how neurocognitive resources and lab- based assessments of control over WM project out to intra-individual trajectories of cognition and behavior. The current proposal will: 1) Examine the contribution of WM to self-regulation of health promotion behavior and health/well- being outcomes in middle-aged and older adults. Individuals who self-report high self-regulation achieve generally superior health and well-being outcomes. However, the role control over WM processing plays in moderating these achievements has been understudied. 2) Develop novel ambulatory measures of WM capacity. Lab-based executive control tasks are less suitable for ambulatory deployment. EMA of WM capacity will place objective assessment of controlled cognition in close proximity of real-time self-regulation of behavior. 3) Examine how individual differences in the neurocognitive resources that underlie WM processing project out into intra-individual trajectories of health promotion behavior. We expect that age-related declines/maintenance of the neurocognitive resources that support WM processing will play a key role in determining an individual?s capacity to self-regulate physical activity.
People who engage in regular physical activity are at lower risk for chronic illness and neurological disease, including Alzheimer?s disease, yet, an underwhelming percentage of the public meets federally recommended physical activity guidelines. The role of executive cognitive abilities (e.g., control over working memory processing) in developing and maintaining regular physical activity remains poorly understood, and this project will gain leverage on how momentary variation in working memory capacity influences physical activity through novel ambulatory (e.g., smart phone-based) assessment of cognition, stress, and daily behavior. We expect maintenance of the neurocognitive resources involved in working memory processing into middle and older adulthood to support self-regulation of physical activity.
