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Understanding and Enhancing Interoception toward Reducing Exploitation Risk in Aging and ADRD: Mechanisms and Trainability

Award Number: R01AG103545
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2026
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 08/31/2031

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Understanding and Enhancing Interoception toward Reducing Exploitation Risk in Aging and ADRD: Mechanisms and Trainability - Project Summary Older adults are notably vulnerable to financial exploitation and show reduced deception detection, with increased vulnerability among those with age-associated neurodegenerative disease (Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias; ADRD). Aging and ADRD are typically associated with structural and functional brain changes that result in dampened physiological and neural responding to deceptive cues, presenting a likely mechanism for higher exploitation risk in aging with devastating consequences. At present, age-related changes to the neurobiological processes that support perception and integration of one's physiological states (interoception), and their role in determining exploitation risk in aging, remain unexplored. To address this pressing public health concern, this project tests the central hypothesis that interoception constitutes a neurophysiological mechanism of deception detection in aging and ADRD. Grounded in our conceptual framework, Changes in Integration for Social Decisions in Aging (CISDA) and leveraging a promising intervention to enhance interoception in aging, this project will be the first to (i) delineate the physiological mechanisms underlying deception detection; (ii) characterize the role interoception plays in deception detection in ‘early’ preclinical AD; (iii) determine the neural correlates of interoception in deception detection; and (iv) identify pathways to improved interoception and deception detection among older adults with and without cognitive impairments. Across two studies and four aims, we will recruit a representative sample of older adults with and without Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). In Study 1 (Aims 1 & 2), 206 participants at the University of Central Florida will complete a Heartbeat Counting Task (to measure interoceptive accuracy) and a Deception Detection Task (to assess discernment of deception and truth-telling) during recording of physiological responses. In Study 2, a separate sample of 212 participants at the University of Florida will perform these tasks with magnetic resonance imaging (Aim 3). The same Study 2 participants will return for randomization into an Interoception Training (directly linking sensations during emotion-inducing videos with sensations to true-crime genuine vs. deceptive pleaders) or a control condition to assess training benefits and transfer (Aim 4). Study 2 participants will also complete a 6-month follow-up to assess longer-term (real-life) training effects. This project will examine interoception and physiological response to deception in aging/ADRD with a direct link of these measures to multimodal brain data for identification of the underlying neurobiological substrates. The project will leverage an interoception training with demonstrated effectiveness for deception detection in younger populations, testing it for the first time in aging/ADRD. Collectively, this project’s interdisciplinary approach will translate novel basic science research into clinical intervention impact by delineating the neurophysiological mechanisms that facilitate deception detection and identifying pathways to mitigate exploitation risk in cognitively healthy aging and ADRD.


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 = $650,920 )
2026	2026	UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA	1523 UNION RD RM 207	GAINESVILLE	FL	32611	ALACHUA	USA	Aging Research	000	1	9/1/2026	NEW	$650,920
														Subtotal = $650,920

Grand Total All Awards = $650,920

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Understanding and Enhancing Interoception toward Reducing Exploitation Risk in Aging and ADRD: Mechanisms and Trainability

Award Number: R01AG103545

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

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

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2026

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 08/31/2031

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