Attentional Mechanisms of Cognitive Compensation in Subjective Cognitive Decline and AD Risk

认知补偿的注意机制在认知功能减退和AD发病中的作用 候选人：金伯利阿尔伯特博士，博士是精神病学和行为学系的助理教授 范德比尔特大学医学中心的科学家，具有强大的认知和系统背景 神经科学她的长期职业目标包括获得必要的培训，成为一名独立的 研究人员的研究重点是确定维持早期认知功能的大脑机制， 病理性脑老化的阶段，并可能导致主观认知下降（SCD）。 阿尔伯特寻求将她的机械工作转化为临床研究，以减轻 早期AD病理学的认知影响。阿尔伯特博士需要在临床试验开发方面接受高级培训， 执行和管理。2)SCD和阿尔茨海默病的临床表现、病程和评估 3）使用EEG/ERP的神经成像，以提供时间分辨率来评估与以下相关的脑活动： 认知过程的组成部分这项培训将建立在阿尔伯特博士先前在人类认知方面的经验基础上 神经科学使用功能性神经成像来检查认知老化的神经生物学。 研究项目：这些职业目标将通过一项研究促进，重点是 注意力的胆碱能支持作为SCD的认知补偿机制。早期AD相关 神经病理学影响对记忆重要的内侧颞区，可能存在代偿性 通过增加胆碱能功能增强注意力网络活动。虽然内存性能 通过这种补偿过程，微妙的认知变化可能会被掩盖。另夕h 个人可能会经历这种变化，因为增加了所需的努力或偶尔的内存故障， 在认知测试正常的情况下，主观认知能力下降。胆碱能活性可能是一个整体 在早期AD中，通过增强注意力来维持记忆功能。 本研究的重点是注意作为一种补偿性认知过程，以及注意与认知功能之间的关系。 AD相关的病理学和胆碱能神经递质机制可能是SCD中这种补偿的基础。 本研究的最终目的是确定注意网络变化在支持认知过程中的作用 使用EEG和fMRI作为补充的神经成像方法在SCD中的表现。抗胆碱 挑战将被用来模拟AD进展，并检查认知问题之间的关系， 注意力和AD病理学。这项研究的结果将提高我们对大脑变化的理解， 在AD病理的早期阶段维持认知表现，并且可能是SCD的基础。 环境：通过精神病学系提供的指导，合作和资源， 行为科学、认知医学中心和范德比尔特阿尔茨海默病研究 中心提供了一个理想的环境，以支持阿尔伯特博士的过渡到独立的资金和领导， 认知老化中的注意力变化领域。

Attentional Mechanisms of Cognitive Compensation in Subjective Cognitive Decline and AD Risk Candidate: Dr. Kimberly Albert, PhD is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center with a strong background in cognitive and systems neuroscience. Her long-term career goals include gaining the necessary training to become an independent investigator with research focused on identifying brain mechanisms that maintain cognitive function in the early stages of pathological brain aging and may underlie subjective cognitive decline (SCD). Career Development: Dr. Albert seeks to translate her mechanistic work to clinical research that mitigates the cognitive effects of early AD pathology. Dr. Albert requires advanced training in 1) clinical trials development, implementation, and management.; 2) the clinical presentation, course, and assessment of SCD and Alzheimer’s Disease; 3) neuroimaging using EEG/ERP to provide the temporal resolution to assess brain activity related to component cognitive processes. This training will build on Dr. Albert’s prior experience in human cognitive neuroscience using functional neuroimaging to examine the neurobiology of cognitive aging. Research Project: These career goals will be facilitated through a research study focused on the role of cholinergic support of attention as a cognitive compensatory mechanism in SCD. As early AD-related neuropathology affects medial temporal areas important for memory, there may be a compensatory enhancement of attention network activity via increased cholinergic function. Although memory performance is maintained through this compensatory process, subtle cognitive changes may be obscured. Additionally, the individual may experience this change as increased required effort or occasional memory failures which result in subjective cognitive decline despite normal cognitive testing. Cholinergic activity may be an integral component of maintaining memory function in early AD, through enhanced attention. The proposed study focuses on attention as a compensatory cognitive process and the relationships between AD-related pathology and cholinergic neurotransmitter mechanisms that may underlie this compensation in SCD. The ultimate aim of the study is to identify the role of attention network changes in supporting cognitive performance in SCD using EEG and fMRI as complimentary neuroimaging approaches. Anticholinergic challenge will be employed to model AD progression and examine the relationships between cognitive concerns, attention, and AD pathology. The results of this study will improve our understanding of brain changes that maintain cognitive performance in the early stages of AD pathology and may underlie SCD. Environment: Mentoring, collaborations, and resources available through the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, the Center for Cognitive Medicine, and the Vanderbilt Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center provide an ideal environment to support Dr. Albert’s transition to independent funding and leadership in the field of attentional changes in cognitive aging.