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INVESTIGATING AGE-RELATED DIFFERENCES IN COGNITIVE AND NEURAL REPRESENTATIONS IN ASSOCIATIVE MEMORY

Award Number: R15AG052903
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/12/2024
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 04/30/2025

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INVESTIGATING AGE-RELATED DIFFERENCES IN COGNITIVE AND NEURAL REPRESENTATIONS IN ASSOCIATIVE MEMORY - Older adult memory is vulnerable to an associative deficit – a decline in the ability to link together multiple pieces of information. This has implications for many aspects of cognitive functioning in everyday life, such as remembering to take medicine at a certain time of day. However, not enough is known about the neural bases of the associative deficit. For example, how does the associative deficit fit into broader theories of the functional organization of memory networks in the human brain, and how is the associative deficit linked to age-related changes in neural representations of information? The long-term goal of the proposed research is to gain understanding of associative memory mechanisms in aging so that beneficial intervention strategies for memory can be developed for use with older adults. The objective of the current research is to test whether specific age-related differences in associative memory can be accounted for by differences in neural specificity and functional connectivity in posterior-medial and anterior-temporal cortico-hippocampal networks. The overarching hypothesis is that the associative deficit depends on the degree to which neural specificity and functional connectivity each contribute to a task. The rationale for the proposed research is that investigating age-related differences in neural representations and functional connectivity in associative memory will lead to a more robust theory of the associative deficit, and will enable the development of methods for presenting information to older adults in ways that reduce age differences in associative memory. Innovative fMRI experiments are proposed that will: 1) Examine how encoding of new associations is affected by age differences in reactivation and processing of prior associations and in the dynamics of cortico-hippocampal networks; and 2) Investigate how dedifferentiation in perceptual regions contributes to age differences in the encoding and retrieval of associations within cortico-hippocampal networks for memory. The approach is innovative because the planned experiments will combine novel experimental designs with advanced fMRI analysis methods to bridge the gap between cognitive theories of the associative deficit and underlying neural differences between young and older adults. The proposed research is significant because results of the studies will generate new insights in scientific understanding of the neural bases of the associative deficit. This work represents a critical step toward a unified explanation of associative memory deficits in aging. It will advance the field of aging and memory as well as enable the development of interventions, such as more effective means of presenting information, that may improve information representations in associative memory, thereby improving health and quality of life.


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 = -$2 )
2025	2020	ELON UNIVERSITY	100 CAMPUS DR	ELON	NC	27244	ALAMANCE	USA	Aging Research	000	2	12/6/2024	COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$23,937
2025	2020	ELON UNIVERSITY	100 CAMPUS DR	ELON	NC	27244	ALAMANCE	USA	Aging Research	001	2	1/3/2025	COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$2
2025	2020	XAVIER UNIVERSITY	3800 VICTORY PKWY	CINCINNATI	OH	45207	HAMILTON	USA	Aging Research	002	3	1/16/2025	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$23,937
														Subtotal = -$2

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2024	2020	ELON UNIVERSITY	100 CAMPUS DR	ELON	NC	27244	ALAMANCE	USA	Aging Research	000	2	4/19/2024	COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2023	2020	ELON UNIVERSITY	100 CAMPUS DR	ELON	NC	27244	ALAMANCE	USA	Aging Research	000	2	4/20/2023	COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2021	2016	ELON UNIVERSITY	100 CAMPUS DR	ELON COLLEGE	NC	27244	ALAMANCE	USA	Aging Research	000	1	2/1/2021	NEW	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $413,993 )
2020	2020	ELON UNIVERSITY	100 CAMPUS DR	ELON COLLEGE	NC	27244	ALAMANCE	USA	Aging Research	000	2	8/7/2020	COMPETING CONTINUATION	$413,993
														Subtotal = $413,993

Issue Date FY: 2016 ( Subtotal = $343,866 )
2016	2016	ELON UNIVERSITY	PO BOX 398	ELON	NC	27244	ALAMANCE	USA	Aging Research	000	1	5/31/2016	NEW	$343,866
														Subtotal = $343,866

Grand Total All Awards = $757,857

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INVESTIGATING AGE-RELATED DIFFERENCES IN COGNITIVE AND NEURAL REPRESENTATIONS IN ASSOCIATIVE MEMORY

Award Number: R15AG052903

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

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

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/12/2024

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 04/30/2025

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