Leveraging Neuroimaging Biomarkers to Understand the Role of Social Networks in Alzheimer's Disease

项目摘要 该项目的目标是了解个人社交网络动态在 轻度认知功能障碍（MCI）和阿尔茨海默病病因及临床进展 （AD）。我们建议描述社会行为和生物学机制的特点， 社交网络与衰老相关神经病理学之间的关系。AD和痴呆症 这对个人、家庭和医疗保健系统都是毁灭性的打击。的临界点 AD的干预是社会环境，它有可能缓和潜在的 神经病理学，改变痴呆症的典型认知过程。积极的社会互动- 包括知己的数量，社会接触的频率，支持和社会参与-是 与痴呆症风险降低和认知能力下降的缓慢轨迹有关， 诊断的人。然而，现有的文献依赖于有限的和一维的 社会互动的措施，并尚未考虑潜在的生物学的作用， 神经退行性变，其在可观察到的临床认知症状之前很久就表现出来， 痴呆拟议的项目通过三个具体目标解决这些差距：目标1是确定 社交网络特征与神经退行性疾病（QNP）之间的基线关联。 目的2是研究个人社会网络动态与 神经退行性改变目的3是评估个人共同进化的替代模型 社交网络和神经退行性变化的临床认知能力下降的轨迹。的 拟议的研究是跨学科的，结合了社会和 生物医学科学，并利用AD，神经影像学和 网络科学通过增加我们对生物和社会之间联系的理解 该项目可能有助于确定新的干预目标，以减少AD的负担 对个人、家庭和医疗保健系统的影响。

PROJECT SUMMARY The goal of the proposed project is to understand the role of personal social network dynamics in the etiology and clinical progression of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer disease (AD). We propose to characterize social-behavioral and biological mechanisms underlying relationships between social networks and aging-related neuropathology. AD and dementia takes a devastating toll on individuals, families, and the health care system. A critical point of intervention in AD is the social environment, which has the potential to moderate underlying neuropathology, altering the typical cognitive course of dementia. Positive social interaction – including number of confidants, frequency of social contact, support, and social engagement – is associated with reduced risk for dementia and a slower trajectory of cognitive decline among diagnosed individuals. However, the existing literature relies on limited and unidimensional measures of social interaction, and has yet to consider the role of underlying biological neurodegeneration, which manifests long before observable clinical cognitive symptoms of dementia. The proposed project addresses these gaps via three specific aims: Aim 1 is to identify baseline associations between social network characteristics and neurodegeneration (QNPs). Aim 2 is to examine longitudinal relationships between personal social network dynamics and neurodegenerative changes. Aim 3 is to evaluate alternative models of the coevolution of personal social networks and neurodegenerative changes in trajectories of clinical cognitive decline. The proposed study is interdisciplinary, combining leading-edge methods from the social and biomedical sciences, and leveraging the resources of funded centers for AD, neuroimaging, and network science. By increasing our understanding of the links between biological and social processes, this project may help identify novel targets for intervention to reduce the burden of AD on individuals, families, and the health care system.