Tuesday, March 24, 2026 3/24/2026

Aberrant cortical entrainment in biomarker-confirmed Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment

Award Number: F30AG076259
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: FELLOWSHIP/SCHOLARSHIP/STUDENT LOANS
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 01/12/2022
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 01/11/2027

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Aberrant cortical entrainment in biomarker-confirmed Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment - Abstract/Project Summary The United States population is becoming increasingly older and the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and its common precursor, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), is expected to dramatically rise in the coming years. As such, there is an immediate national need to further understand the neurophysiological basis of these neuro- degenerative diseases. Recent studies have shown disruption of gamma-band neural oscillatory activity in animal models of AD. Further, visual stimulation at gamma frequencies has been shown to increase the clearance of amyloid-β (Aβ) and hyperphosphorylated tau in mouse models, while improving cognitive performance. Despite these groundbreaking findings, research into gamma oscillatory activity in humans with AD remains scarce. Relatedly, visuospatial attention processes are among the earliest and most severely affected cognitive functions in MCI and AD. Dysfunction in this domain has also been shown to be more specific for identifying Alzheimer’s type dementia relative to other forms (e.g., frontotemporal dementia) when compared to dysfunction in other cognitive domains (e.g., memory). Although neuropsychological testing has shown clear deficits in visuospatial attention in patients with MCI and AD, very little is known about the neural oscillatory activity that underlies these deficits. The current study aims to partially remedy these knowledge gaps by utilizing the spatial precision and exquisite temporal resolution (i.e., millisecond) of magnetoencephalographic (MEG) imaging. Briefly, persons with AD, MCI, and demographically-matched controls will complete two cognitive tasks during MEG recording; one examining multispectral visual entrainment activity and another investigating visuospatial attention processing. The resulting MEG data will be transformed into the time-frequency domain and imaged using a beamforming approach. The output dynamic functional maps of electrical neural activity will be used to examine baseline and task-related entrainment and oscillatory activity among regions serving visual and visuospatial processing. In particular, we will identify the statistically anomalous neural oscillations in patients with MCI and AD, and then link these neural data to regional Aβ deposition and overall performance (e.g., general and domain-specific cognition, functional capacity, etc.). Our Aims are: (1) To quantify the cortical dynamics during visual entrainment at specific frequencies (i.e., 20, 35, 40, and 45 Hz) in patients with MCI or mild AD, and decifer the relationship between local gamma activity and quantitative Aβ deposition, and (2) to identify deficits in the tracking of attended visual stimuli in patients with MCI and mild AD, and determine how this relates to cognitive performance. To this end, we will utilize the latest MEG and source reconstruction techniques, neural oscillatory analysis methods, quantitative Aβ PET imaging, and neuropsychological assessments to delineate the neurophysiological bases of cognitive impairments in patients with MCI and AD. This research will aid in illuminating the neural dynamics underlying cognitive dysfunction in those with MCI and AD, with the primary goals of scientific discovery and developing the research and clinical skills of the applicant to produce a successful physician-scientist.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $13,169 )
2026	2026	BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA	4215 EMILE ST	OMAHA	NE	68105	DOUGLAS	USA	Aging Research	002	6	1/30/2026	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$50,514
2026	2024	FATHER FLANAGAN'S BOYS' HOME	14100 CRAWFORD ST	BOYS TOWN	NE	68010	DOUGLAS	USA	Aging Research	001	3	1/27/2026	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$36,650
2026	2023	FATHER FLANAGAN'S BOYS' HOME	14100 CRAWFORD ST	BOYS TOWN	NE	68010	DOUGLAS	USA	Aging Research	000	2	1/27/2026	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$695
														Subtotal = $13,169

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $50,514 )
2025	2025	FATHER FLANAGAN'S BOYS' HOME	14100 CRAWFORD ST	BOYS TOWN	NE	68010	DOUGLAS	USA	Aging Research	001	4	6/23/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$49,950
2025	2025	BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA	4215 EMILE ST	OMAHA	NE	68105	DOUGLAS	USA	Aging Research	002	5	6/24/2025	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$50,514
2025	2025	FATHER FLANAGAN'S BOYS' HOME	14100 CRAWFORD ST	BOYS TOWN	NE	68010	DOUGLAS	USA	Aging Research	000	4	12/20/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$49,950
														Subtotal = $50,514

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $36,650 )
2024	2024	FATHER FLANAGAN'S BOYS' HOME	14100 CRAWFORD ST	BOYS TOWN	NE	68010	DOUGLAS	USA	Aging Research	000	3	12/5/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$35,370
2024	2024	FATHER FLANAGAN'S BOYS' HOME	14100 CRAWFORD ST	BOYS TOWN	NE	68010	DOUGLAS	USA	Aging Research	001	3	4/30/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$1,280
														Subtotal = $36,650

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $35,370 )
2023	2023	FATHER FLANAGANS BOYS HOME	14100 CRAWFORD ST	BOYS TOWN	NE	68010	DOUGLAS	USA	Aging Research	001	2	2/23/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$942
2023	2023	FATHER FLANAGANS BOYS HOME	14100 CRAWFORD ST	BOYS TOWN	NE	68010	DOUGLAS	USA	Aging Research	000	2	12/1/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$34,428
														Subtotal = $35,370

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $34,428 )
2022	2022	FATHER FLANAGAN'S BOYS' HOME	13603 FLANAGAN BLVD	BOYS TOWN	NE	68010	DOUGLAS	USA	Aging Research	002	1	5/3/2022	NEW	$717
2022	2022	FATHER FLANAGAN'S BOYS' HOME	13603 FLANAGAN BLVD	BOYS TOWN	NE	68010	DOUGLAS	USA	Aging Research	001	1	1/12/2022	NEW	$0
2022	2022	FATHER FLANAGAN'S BOYS' HOME	13603 FLANAGAN BLVD	BOYS TOWN	NE	68010	DOUGLAS	USA	Aging Research	000	1	1/12/2022	NEW	$33,712
2022	2022	FATHER FLANAGAN'S BOYS' HOME	13603 FLANAGAN BLVD	BOYS TOWN	NE	68010	DOUGLAS	USA	Aging Research	003	1	8/30/2022	NEW	-$1
														Subtotal = $34,428

Grand Total All Awards = $170,131

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Aberrant cortical entrainment in biomarker-confirmed Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment

Award Number: F30AG076259

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: FELLOWSHIP/SCHOLARSHIP/STUDENT LOANS

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 01/12/2022

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 01/11/2027

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