Integrating the Social Context, Sensory Functioning, and Inflammation in a Longitudinal Study of Cognitive Aging and Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Research into cognitive impairments and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) suggests that exposure to enriching or stimulating social contexts – i.e., social complexity – may slow age-related cognitive decline and delay the onset or progression of ADRD. Most research in this area has considered how social complexity in either the proximal (e.g., social network, social activities) or distal (e.g., neighborhood) contexts shape cognition. Additionally, prior research on social complexity and cognition is conducted largely separately from existing physiological frameworks for understanding cognitive aging and ADRD. Through this K01, Dr. Alyssa Goldman will integrate existing research on the roles of sensory systems and inflammation in shaping cognitive decline and ADRD, and examine how these associations are informed by changes in both proximal and distal social complexity over time. Dr. Goldman’s long-term goal is to lead a social science research program that uses innovative approaches to better understand the social pathways of cognitive functioning and ADRD. The K01 Award will support this goal by extending her prior training as a sociologist, developing her understanding of and skills in: (1) the physiology of cognitive aging, ADRD, sensory functioning, and inflammation, (2) the objective assessment of cognition, sensory functioning, and inflammation through large- scale, in-home survey methods, (3) advanced methods for longitudinal analysis, and (4) grant writing and professional development. In parallel with this training, this project has three research aims: (1) to determine how changes in exposure to proximal and distal social complexity collectively shape cognition and ADRD, (2) to determine how proximal and distal social complexity are associated with olfaction, in ways that may shape trajectories of cognition and ADRD, and (3) to determine how proximal and distal social complexity are associated with inflammation, in ways that may explain changes in cognition and ADRD. The training and research goals of this proposal will be overseen by a mentorship committee of accomplished experts in cognition and ADRD, sensory systems, chronic inflammation, and aging and the social context. This study will generate new insights on the collective impact of proximal and distal social factors on cognitive decline and ADRD. Further, this study will examine how social complexity shapes trajectories of olfaction and inflammation as mechanisms in the relationship between social complexity and cognitive health in a nationally-representative sample of older adults. These physiological frameworks of cognition and ADRD have yet to be contextualized in terms of social factors. This study will develop innovative measures of social network change, which are largely undertheorized, and that can be applied to future studies of cognitive aging and other health trajectories. The training and research activities of this award will equip Dr. Goldman with the skills to succeed as an independent investigator of the social context of sensory systems, disease processes, and their relationships with cognition and ADRD.