Self-Regulation and Brain and Cognitive Health in Older Adults

典型的老年人经历大脑结构和认知功能的衰退，但这些平均衰退发生在非常不同的个体轨迹的背景下。该项目的目的是测量老年人自我调节（思想、情绪、行为和冲动的控制）随时间的个体差异和变化，并将自我调节与身体活动、炎症和与阿尔茨海默病发展相关的神经认知健康轨迹联系起来。这项纵向研究始于2001年，并于2006年获得R01基金，由一个研究团队提交，该研究团队在衰老、自我调节、运动科学、神经心理学、神经影像学、阿尔茨海默病和纵向设计与分析方面具有专业知识。先前的更新期侧重于自我调节各方面之间的关系及其与免疫和心血管健康的关系。更新继续对这些措施进行评估，以提供该纵向数据集的连续性，并在纳入重复神经成像和传染病负担评估方面增加创新。具体而言，本研究的目的是：(1)测试自我调节方面（尽责性、自我调节、执行认知功能和心率变异性）对与衰老和阿尔茨海默病风险相关的神经认知健康指标的影响；(2)检验自我调节与神经认知健康之间的关系在多大程度上是由体育活动和炎症介导的；(3)测试与执行认知功能（如背外侧额叶体积）相关的神经认知健康是否有助于更好的自我调节、更高的身体活动和更低的炎症；(4)检测传染病负担（潜伏病毒、刚地弓形虫）对自我调节、炎症、神经认知健康和阿尔茨海默病风险的影响。每隔6个月，老年人（N = 175）将完成自我报告的自我调节测量；执行认知功能，包括抑制、移动和工作记忆；静息HRV。每次访问时将测量身体活动、身体质量指数和腰围。抽血将与这些访问同步进行，对这些样本进行的分析将捕获血清促炎细胞因子和针对潜伏感染的抗体。样本有1-15年的随访数据，符合条件的子集（N = 90）将已经进行基线神经影像学检查。神经影像学检查每2年重复2次。这种更新在纵向评估包括大脑、行为和免疫在内的动态系统方面具有创新性；神经影像学指标与健康与不健康衰老其他领域的整合以及神经认知健康的多模式评估，包括与阿尔茨海默病和其他痴呆症风险相关的措施：主观认知健康、认知功能、体积成像措施、连通性、分数各向异性和静息脑血流量。

Summary The typical older adult experiences declines in brain structure and cognitive function, but these mean declines occur in the context of what can be very different individual trajectories. The purpose of this project is to measure individual differences and changes in self-regulation (control of thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and impulses) over time in older adults, and to link self-regulation to physical activity, inflammation, and trajectories of neurocognitive health relevant to development of Alzheimer’s disease. This is a competing renewal of this longitudinal study, which began in 2001 and received R01 funding in 2006, submitted by a research team with expertise in aging, self-regulation, exercise science, neuropsychology, neuroimaging, Alzheimer’s disease, and longitudinal design and analysis. The previous renewal period focused on relationships among facets of self-regulation and their relationship to immunological and cardiovascular health. The renewal continues assessment of these measures to provide continuity in this longitudinal dataset and adds innovation in the inclusion of repeated neuroimaging and assessment of infectious disease burden. Specifically, the aims of the study are: (1) to test the effects of facets of self-regulation (conscientiousness, self-regulation, executive cognitive function, and heart rate variability) on measures of neurocognitive health associated with aging and risk for Alzheimer’s disease; (2) to test the degree to which the relationship between self-regulation and neurocognitive health is mediated by physical activity and inflammation; (3) to test whether neurocognitive health associated with executive cognitive functions (e.g., dorsolateral frontal lobe volume) contributes to better self-regulation, higher physical activity, and lower inflammation; and (4) to test effects of infectious disease burden (latent viruses, Toxoplasma gondii) on self-regulation, inflammation, and neurocognitive health and risk for Alzheimer’s disease. At 6-month intervals, older adults (N = 175) will complete measures of self-reported self-regulation; executive cognitive functions including inhibition, shifting, and working memory; and resting HRV. Physical activity, BMI, and waist circumference will be measured at each visit. Blood draws will be synchronized with these visits, and assays performed on these samples will capture serum proinflammatory cytokines and antibodies against latent infections. The sample has follow-back data on many of these measures from 1-15 years, and an eligible subset (N = 90) will already have baseline neuroimaging. Neuroimaging will be repeated twice at 2-year intervals. This renewal will be innovative in its longitudinal assessment of a dynamic system that includes brain, behavior, and immunity; integration of neuroimaging measures with other domains of healthy and unhealthy aging; and multimodal assessment of neurocognitive health, including measures associated with risk for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias: subjective cognitive health, cognitive function, volumetric imaging measures, connectivity, fractional anisotropy, and resting cerebral blood flow.