Wednesday, March 25, 2026 3/25/2026

Bilingual Factors Associated with Cognitive Reserve and Linguistic Resilience in Hispanics with Primary Progressive Aphasia

Award Number: R01AG080470
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 12/01/2022
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 11/30/2027
AWARD TERMINATION DATE: 05/05/2025

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

Bilingual Factors Associated with Cognitive Reserve and Linguistic Resilience in Hispanics with Primary Progressive Aphasia - Project Summary/Abstract Society at large is facing a global “dementia epidemic” that is predicted to intensify with the growing aging population. Although there is currently no cure for this devastating and pervasive condition, one life experience shown to protect against the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders (ADRD) is that of bilingualism. Nevertheless, findings regarding bilingualism as a contributor to cognitive reserve are mixed. These mixed findings may, in part, be attributed to variability in the characterization of the bilingual experience across distinct sociocultural contexts in addition to the presence of potential confounding variables. Little attention has been directed towards examining bilingualism factors (e.g., language dominance, proficiency, use and age of acquisition) that may underly these findings. In addition, limited attention has been directed towards language- prominent dementia syndromes, such as primary progressive aphasia (PPA). Although speech and language impairments are ubiquitous features of ADRD, in the case PPA these debilitating deficits manifest as initial, predominant symptoms. Differential patterns of language decline have been observed in bilingual PPA, with resilience of the first learned language and parallel decline reported in the literature. However, a nuanced account establishing patterns of language decline across different linguistic domains has yet to be systematically examined in PPA. In addition, although positive effects of speech-language intervention are now well documented in monolingual speakers with PPA, there is a significant gap in the literature examining treatment optimized for bilingual speakers with PPA. Moreover, the behavioral, neural and bilingual factors associated with language re-learning have yet to be established in bilingual speakers with PPA. The overall aim of the proposed research is to establish associations between bilingualism factors and the onset, decline, and treatment response of Hispanic, bilinguals (Spanish-Catalan) with PPA. In Aim 1, we seek to identify bilingualism factors associated with a later age of onset in Hispanics with each PPA variant. In Aim 2, we seek to identify the bilingualism factors associated with differential patterns of language impairment in Hispanics with PPA using metrics derived from connected speech. In Aim 3, we will evaluate the benefits of tailored speech-language intervention in the largest behavioral rehabilitation study of bilingual Hispanics with PPA to-date. We will also identify the bilingualism factors, pre-treatment cognitive-linguistic measures, and brain regions implicated in bilingualism that predict the magnitude of within-language gains and cross-language transfer effects. In order to accomplish these aims, we will enroll 90 Hispanic, bilinguals with PPA who will undergo behavioral assessment, MRI, and speech-language treatment. This proposal will provide needed evidence regarding cognitive reserve and linguistic resilience by leveraging a large bilingual PPA cohort via an established international collaboration. Outcomes will also provide crucial knowledge regarding neural mechanisms of language re-learning and will address how specific bilingual factors influence cognitive reserve and linguistic resilience in language-prominent dementia.


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 = $679,075 )
2026	2026	UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN	110 INNER CAMPUS DR	AUSTIN	TX	78712	TRAVIS	USA	Aging Research	006	4	2/27/2026	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$210,870
2026	2026	UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN	110 INNER CAMPUS DR	AUSTIN	TX	78712	TRAVIS	USA	Aging Research	005	4	2/26/2026	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$46,820
2026	2026	UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN	110 INNER CAMPUS DR	AUSTIN	TX	78712	TRAVIS	USA	Aging Research	002	4	2/13/2026	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$421,385
2026	2025	UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN	110 INNER CAMPUS DR	AUSTIN	TX	78712	TRAVIS	USA	Aging Research	001	3	12/31/2025	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	-$19,888
2026	2025	UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN	110 INNER CAMPUS DR	AUSTIN	TX	78712	TRAVIS	USA	Aging Research	004	3	2/24/2026	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$0
2026	2025	UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN	110 INNER CAMPUS DR	AUSTIN	TX	78712	TRAVIS	USA	Aging Research	000	3	12/31/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$19,888
2026	2025	UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN	110 INNER CAMPUS DR	AUSTIN	TX	78712	TRAVIS	USA	Aging Research	003	3	2/24/2026	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $679,075

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $666,441 )
2025	2025	UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN	110 INNER CAMPUS DR	AUSTIN	TX	78712	TRAVIS	USA	Aging Research	003	3	8/27/2025	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$205,806
2025	2025	UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN	110 INNER CAMPUS DR	AUSTIN	TX	78712	TRAVIS	USA	Aging Research	004	3	9/15/2025	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$0
2025	2025	UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN	110 INNER CAMPUS DR	AUSTIN	TX	78712	TRAVIS	USA	Aging Research	002	3	8/25/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$151,402
2025	2025	UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN	110 INNER CAMPUS DR	AUSTIN	TX	78712	TRAVIS	USA	Aging Research	000	3	2/14/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$612,037
2025	2024	UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN	110 INNER CAMPUS DR	AUSTIN	TX	78712	TRAVIS	USA	Aging Research	001	2	5/5/2025	TERMINATION	$0
														Subtotal = $666,441

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $712,048 )
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN	110 INNER CAMPUS DR	AUSTIN	TX	78712	TRAVIS	USA	Aging Research	003	2	7/29/2024	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$30,900
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN	110 INNER CAMPUS DR	AUSTIN	TX	78712	TRAVIS	USA	Aging Research	002	2	4/30/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$68,115
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN	110 INNER CAMPUS DR	AUSTIN	TX	78712	TRAVIS	USA	Aging Research	001	2	11/21/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$613,033
2024	2023	UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN	110 INNER CAMPUS DR	AUSTIN	TX	78712	TRAVIS	USA	Aging Research	000	1	11/7/2023	NEW	$0
														Subtotal = $712,048

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $693,588 )
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN	110 INNER CAMPUS DR	AUSTIN	TX	78712	TRAVIS	USA	Aging Research	001	1	6/14/2023	NEW	$0
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN	110 INNER CAMPUS DR	AUSTIN	TX	78712	TRAVIS	USA	Aging Research	000	1	11/23/2022	NEW	$693,588
														Subtotal = $693,588

Grand Total All Awards = $2,751,152

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

Bilingual Factors Associated with Cognitive Reserve and Linguistic Resilience in Hispanics with Primary Progressive Aphasia

Award Number: R01AG080470

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

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

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 12/01/2022

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 11/30/2027

AWARD TERMINATION DATE: 05/05/2025

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer