Neuromodulation of Motivated Cognition and Decision Making Across Adulthood

描述（由申请人提供）：这个独立之路奖的目标是扩大知识基础，方法专业知识和候选人的理论发展技能，因为他从博士后实习生过渡到专注于衰老的决策神经科学的独立科学家。大量关于衰老心理学的行为研究揭示了认知和动机在生命周期中的变化。认知老化的许多著名理论都集中在神经调节的变化上，特别关注神经递质多巴胺（DA）。然而，DA不仅与认知功能的变化有关，而且在动机中起着重要作用。然而，与年龄相关的DA功能变化和动机因素之间的关系却很少得到研究。初始K99指导阶段的目标是开始检查成年期动机和认知之间的相互作用，增加候选人对多巴胺系统的知识基础，获得计算建模的经验，并扩展候选人对多种成像措施的专业知识。为了实现这些目标，候选人将进行一个合作的多模态成像项目，重点是澄清DA功能和自我调节之间的联系（R21-DA 033611）。该项目将包括一组健康成年人的抑制控制的行为和功能磁共振成像测量以及大脑受体可用性的PET测量。所有参与者将完成两项行为任务，这些任务捕获动机认知控制的不同方面，并参与不同的，尽管重叠的神经网络。候选人将开始扩展这条工作线，以及他以前在年龄差异方面的工作， 决策的动机认知和决策的年龄差异在这个K99阶段的横断面研究。拟议的R 00项目将研究动机性认知控制与成年期（20-80岁）决策之间的关系。除了PET扫描，受试者将完成行为任务，同时接受功能性磁共振成像，评估奖励处理和抑制控制。参与者还将完成一整套认知和动机个体差异测量，激励相容的行为经济学任务，以及健康与退休研究（HRS）调查的一个子集。该项目还将作为纵向多模态成像协议开发的基础研究。总之，该项目的指导和独立阶段将提供一个框架，以发展一个更加综合和全面的人类衰老理论，将DA功能对认知和动机的作用的神经科学理论与衰老的心理学理论相结合。候选人职业生涯的长期目标是发展一个计算信息和神经生物学特定的理论，在成人发育和衰老过程中进行动机认知。通过这种机制的支持将大大增加候选人获得R 01的可能性，以支持纵向多模态成像研究在早期的职业生涯阶段比其他可能。 公共卫生相关性：相关性-该提案的目的是使用行为和多模式神经成像技术来描述成年人一生中动机和认知的变化。这项工作将形成与年龄相关的奖励处理和认知控制变化的转化研究计划的基础，并有可能最终促进识别老年人次优决策的特定标记，并为适当干预措施的设计提供信息。这项研究的长期目标是通过改善个人层面的决策来改善老年人的财务和情绪健康。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this Pathway to Independence Award is to expand the base of knowledge, methodological expertise, and theoretical development skills of the candidate as he transitions from a post-doctoral trainee to an independent scientist focused on the decision neuroscience of aging. A wealth of behavioral research on the psychology of aging reveals change over the life span in both cognition and motivation. Many prominent theories of cognitive aging are centered on changes in neuromodulation, focusing specifically on the neurotransmitter dopamine (DA). However, DA is not only implicated in variability in cognitive function, but also plays an important role in motivation. Yet, the relatio between age-related changes in DA functioning and motivational factors has received little study. The goal of the initial K99 mentored phase is to begin to examine interactions between motivation and cognition across adulthood, increase the candidate's base of knowledge of the dopamine system, gain experience with computational modeling, and expand the candidate's expertise with multiple imaging measures. To achieve these goals, the candidate will conduct a collaborative multimodal imaging project focused on clarifying the link between DA functioning and self-regulation (R21-DA033611). The project will include behavioral and fMRI measures of inhibitory control as well as PET measures of receptor availability across the brain in a group of healthy adults. All participants will complete two behavioral tasks that capture distinct aspects o motivated cognitive control and engage distinct, albeit overlapping neural networks. The candidate will begin to extend this line of work as well as his previous work on age differences in decision making into a cross-sectional study of age differences in motivated cognition and decision making in this K99 phase. The proposed R00 project will examine relationships between motivated cognitive control and decision making across adulthood (ages 20-80). In addition to a PET scan, subjects will complete behavioral tasks while undergoing fMRI that assess reward processing and inhibitory control. Participants will also complete a full battery of cognitive and motivational individual difference measures, incentive-compatible behavioral economics tasks, as well as a subset of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) survey. This project will also serve as a foundational study for the development of a longitudinal multi-modal imaging protocol. Together, the mentored and independent phases of this project will provide a framework toward developing a more integrative and comprehensive theory of human aging that incorporates neuroscientific theories of the role of DA function for cognition and motivation with psychological theories of aging. A long-term goal of the candidate's career is to develop a computationally-informed and neurobiologically-specific theory of motivated cognition across adult development and aging. Support through this mechanism will greatly increase the likelihood of the candidate's obtaining an R01 to support a longitudinal multimodal imaging study at an earlier career stage than otherwise possible. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Relevance The proposal aims to characterize changes in motivation and cognition over the adult life span using behavioral and multimodal neuroimaging techniques. This work will form the basis of a translational research program on age-related change in reward processing and cognitive control, and has the potential to eventually facilitate identification of specific markers for suboptimal decision making in older adults and inform the design of appropriate interventions. The long-term goal of this line of research is to improve the financial and emotional health of older adults by improving decision making at the individual level.