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Development of the mnemonic similarity task as a tool to address age and dementia-related memory decline

Award Number: R01AG066683
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 05/01/2020
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 01/31/2025

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Development of the mnemonic similarity task as a tool to address age and dementia-related memory decline - Project Summary The Alzheimer’s Association’s 2019 Facts and Figures Report reports that while a cognitive assessment is required for all Medicare Annual Wellness Visit, only 16% of surveyed older adults reported having any form of memory assessment. While standardized neuropsychological tasks are sensitive to gross memory deficits, they are not as sensitive to milder deficits associated with healthy aging or early disease stages and they are often poorly suited for routine testing outside of trained neuropsychologist practitioners. Thus, there is a critical need for an easy-to administer, reliable, and sensitive measure of hippocampal memory function for clinical use. We have designed the Mnemonic Similarity Task (MST), a modified object recognition memory task, to provide not only a traditional measure of object recognition memory, but also a measure of “mnemonic discrimination” that is highly sensitive hippocampal function by placing strong demands on pattern separation. Thus, the goal of this proposal is to complete the development and validation of version of the clinical MST (cMST) as a fully encapsulated tool that would be ready for use in clinical research and for evaluation as a routine clinical tool. First, we will develop an optimized version of the MST designed for clinical use as a sensitive assay of hippocampal function that rapidly, but robustly, estimates hippocampal memory performance. The design goals are that it is: 1) easy to administer in a short amount of time, 2) has clear scoring and interpretation of results, 3) is sensitive to modest hippocampal dysfunction, 4) demonstrates reliability, and 5) exhibits general utility across a range of racial/ethnic/age groups. At the core of the MST is the use of highly similar lure items that have a range of pre-determined “mnemonic similarity” to the original studied item. We have now developed a version of the MST that uses a continuous recognition memory format and optimizes the distribution of targets, foils, and lures, along with the mnemonic similarity of those lures, for use in the cMST. Here, we will determine whether that is an ideal format or whether a Bayesian adaptive version is superior. Then we will establish normative data on the cMST across the lifespan and in early dementia. In Aim 2.1, we will evaluate the sensitivity and validity of the cMST to memory decline in healthy aging, comparing it to the standard research-grade MST and to traditional neuropsychological tests in a large lifespan sample. Repeat testing of individuals will be used to establish reliability and assess practice effects. We will use these data to create normative data. In Aim 2.2, we will extend these investigations to clinical populations - specifically to those with Mild Cognitive Impairment or early AD through the UCI Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) to determine both viability and normative performance of our measures in these impaired populations and diagnostic ability of the cMST. By working with our ADRC for testing both healthy and impaired individuals, we will gain access to a host of other existing biomarkers of hippocampal decline available in this cohort, such as word recall, CSF tau levels, and hippocampal volume measures via structural MRI. Finally, we will create a model for large-scale distribution of the cMST via online administration. The ultimate goal of this proposal is to create an encapsulated version of the cMST that can be adopted for clinical use that is independent of a research lab. In Aim 3, we will distribute this task via a downloadable link that can be used on either desktop/laptop devices or on touchscreen tablets to a large and diverse sample. UCI’s large Consent 2 Contact (C2C) database (N=3250) provides an outstanding test case for large-scale data collection outside of a clinical or lab-based setting and for testing its potential use as a diagnostic screening tool.


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: 2024 ( Subtotal = $379,237 )
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IRVINE	160 ALDRICH HALL	IRVINE	CA	92697	ORANGE	USA	Aging Research	000	5	2/8/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$341,314
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IRVINE	160 ALDRICH HALL	IRVINE	CA	92697	ORANGE	USA	Aging Research	001	5	7/1/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$37,923
														Subtotal = $379,237

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $379,987 )
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE	160 ALDRICH HALL	IRVINE	CA	92697	ORANGE	USA	Aging Research	000	4	1/17/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$379,987
														Subtotal = $379,987

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $380,695 )
2022	2022	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE	141 INNOVATION DR STE 250	IRVINE	CA	92617	ORANGE	USA	Aging Research	000	3	2/14/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$342,626
2022	2022	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE	141 INNOVATION DR STE 250	IRVINE	CA	92617	ORANGE	USA	Aging Research	001	3	5/10/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$38,069
														Subtotal = $380,695

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $381,364 )
2021	2021	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE	141 INNOVATION DR STE 250	IRVINE	CA	92617	ORANGE	USA	Aging Research	000	2	3/1/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$381,364
														Subtotal = $381,364

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $381,608 )
2020	2020	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE	141 INNOVATION DR STE 250	IRVINE	CA	92617	ORANGE	USA	Aging Research	000	1	4/27/2020	NEW	$381,608
														Subtotal = $381,608

Grand Total All Awards = $1,902,891

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Development of the mnemonic similarity task as a tool to address age and dementia-related memory decline

Award Number: R01AG066683

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 05/01/2020

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 01/31/2025

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