Daily Memory Lapses and Sympathetic-Cardiovascular Dysfunction: Pathways to Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD)

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PROJECT SUMMARY The current project will examine whether and how negative affective responsivity to daily memory lapses is related to sympathetic-cardiovascular dysfunction in young, healthy adults. Daily memory lapses are a common, everyday experience that cause emotional distress among some adults regardless of age. Our previous work demonstrates that this emotional distress is heightened among young adults and persists even after accounting for other types of daily stress experiences (e.g., arguments or work stressors). Given that emotional distress in response to stressors is associated with a number of physical, emotional, and cognitive health consequences, it is critical to identify the physiological pathways that link daily experiences of emotional distress like negative affective responsivity to broader cardiovascular functioning. Further, as individuals higher in depressive symptoms are more likely to experience negative affective responsivity and cardiovascular dysfunction, depressive symptoms are a key individual difference factor that may make individuals more vulnerable to these pathways. This secondary data analysis aims to daily diary assessments of memory lapses and their impacts on daily emotions to direct lab-based assessments of micro-vascular functioning. We will use multilevel structural equation modeling to examine three primary aims: 1) examine how frequency of daily memory lapses relates to sympathetic-cardiovascular dysfunction; 2) examine how negative affective responsivity to daily memory lapses relates to sympathetic-cardiovascular dysfunction; and 3) determine whether level of depressive symptoms moderates these relations. This application combines innovative approaches that allow more precise measurement of both the experience of daily problems with memory and the physiological processes responsible for a wide range of health conditions including hypertension, major depressive disorder, and eventually Alzheimer’s disease. This work capitalizes on previously collected data to efficiently generate new research that will help identify intervention targets for the promotion of healthier cognitive aging that can be implemented earlier in the life span to prevent cognitive decline.