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Characterizing and modulating neurocognitive processes of learning to trust and distrust in aging

Award Number: R01AG072658
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 03/01/2022
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 04/30/2027

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Characterizing and modulating neurocognitive processes of learning to trust and distrust in aging - Project Summary. Much of human interaction is based on trust. Aging has been associated with deficits in trust- related decision making, likely further exacerbated in age-associated neurodegenerative disease (Alzheimer's disease/AD), possibly underlying the dramatically growing public health problem of elder fraud. Optimal trust- related decision making and avoiding exploitation require the ability to learn about the trustworthiness of social partners across multiple interactions, but the role that learning plays in determining age deficits in trust decisions is currently unknown. To address this gap, this project will (i) characterize basic cognitive processes and neural mechanisms in learning to trust and distrust in healthy aging and in older individuals with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and a family history of AD, representing an `early' preclinical AD group; and (ii) probe the malleability of these processes with training to form the foundation for future clinical intervention toward reducing exploitation vulnerability in aging. The proposed work is conceptually embedded in the Changes in Integration for Social Decisions in Aging (CISDA) framework. This framework describes how the integration of decision- relevant information is impacted by trajectories of change in theory of mind, memory systems, and social- emotional processing with age. Two innovative trust-learning paradigms – the Social Iowa Gambling Task (sIGT) and the FLorida-Arizona Gambling Task (FLAG) – will be leveraged to test CISDA predictions across three experiments and complimented by an ecologically valid transfer task assessing elder fraud susceptibility. The proposed research addresses three goals. Aim 1/Study 1: Confirm age deficits in learning to trust in an adult lifespan sample that also includes older individuals with SCD and determine the extent to which social cues of trustworthiness bias trust-related decisions and learning in older age and individuals with SCD. Further, this study will use computational modeling to isolate specific learning biases (social cue, loss aversion, and recency) within the CISDA framework. Aim 2/Study 2: Use fMRI versions of the two new learning paradigms to confirm altered anterior cingulate cortex, insula, and amygdala activity, and their interplay, as neural mechanisms of age- associated learning deficits. Aim 3/Study 3: Probe the malleability of the underlying neurocircuitry of trust- learning deficits in aging. This study will utilize real-time fMRI neurofeedback to train healthy older adults in anterior cingulate cortex up-regulation toward enhanced trust-related learning in aging and confirm critical mechanisms of experience-dependent social decisions in aging. This project's interdisciplinary approach encompasses experimental and affective aging, neuroeconomics, and computational neuroscience. Collectively, this research will advance the basic science of social decision making in aging and determine the malleability of underlying neurocircuitry to inform decision-supportive intervention targeted at optimizing trust-related decision making and reducing exploitation in the elderly.


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: 2025 ( Subtotal = $622,022 )
2025	2025	UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA	1523 UNION RD RM 207	GAINESVILLE	FL	32611	ALACHUA	USA	Aging Research	001	4	6/18/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$622,022
2025	2024	UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA	1523 UNION RD RM 207	GAINESVILLE	FL	32611	ALACHUA	USA	Aging Research	000	3	5/14/2025	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$0
														Subtotal = $622,022

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $778,997 )
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA	1523 UNION RD RM 207	GAINESVILLE	FL	32611	ALACHUA	USA	Aging Research	002	3	7/2/2024	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$41,080
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA	1523 UNION RD RM 207	GAINESVILLE	FL	32611	ALACHUA	USA	Aging Research	000	2	1/12/2024	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$24,041
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA	1523 UNION RD RM 207	GAINESVILLE	FL	32611	ALACHUA	USA	Aging Research	003	3	7/5/2024	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$69,077
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA	1523 UNION RD RM 207	GAINESVILLE	FL	32611	ALACHUA	USA	Aging Research	001	3	6/20/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$644,799
														Subtotal = $778,997

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $799,576 )
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA	1523 UNION RD RM 207	GAINESVILLE	FL	32611	ALACHUA	USA	Aging Research	000	2	4/27/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$635,257
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA	1523 UNION RD RM 207	GAINESVILLE	FL	32611	ALACHUA	USA	Aging Research	001	2	5/1/2023	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$164,319
														Subtotal = $799,576

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $760,068 )
2022	2022	UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA	1523 UNION RD RM 207	GAINESVILLE	FL	32611	ALACHUA	USA	Aging Research	001	1	7/14/2022	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$123,240
2022	2022	UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA	1523 UNION RD RM 207	GAINESVILLE	FL	32611	ALACHUA	USA	Aging Research	000	1	2/17/2022	NEW	$636,828
														Subtotal = $760,068

Grand Total All Awards = $2,960,663

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Characterizing and modulating neurocognitive processes of learning to trust and distrust in aging

Award Number: R01AG072658

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

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

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 03/01/2022

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 04/30/2027

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