Psychosocial Protective Factors in Cognitive and Brain Aging

描述（由申请人提供）：确定干预措施的潜在目标，以减少不同老年人与年龄相关的认知发病率，对美国迅速扩大的老龄化人口至关重要。幸福感、自我效能感、社会支持） 与老年人更好的认知功能有关。这些影响与负面影响无关（例如，抑郁症）。然而，很少有人注意到老年人的亚群，他们特别容易受到与年龄相关的认知疾病的影响：非洲裔美国人，西班牙裔美国人和轻度认知障碍（MCI）的个体。此外，目前还不清楚这些积极的心理社会因素是否缓冲了大脑病理学的负面认知影响，如结构磁共振成像所测量的。这个K99/R 00提案为独立的研究生涯奠定了基础，该研究的重点是表征在不同人群中预防年龄相关认知疾病的心理社会因素的机制。研究和培训计划将为申请人提供（1）在老年人群中建模神经成像生物标志物数据方面的补充培训，（2）在老龄化中心理社会变量方面的更广泛经验，以及（3）跨文化神经心理学的坚实基础。这些经验将补充申请人在老年神经心理学和定量方法方面的强大现有背景。该研究计划扩展了哥伦比亚大学现有的基于社区的多种族老年人纵向研究。这种多样化的人群每18-24个月进行一次认知测试，医学评估，健康措施和MCI/痴呆的共识诊断。一个子集接受结构神经成像。该提案增加了来自美国国立卫生研究院的基于计算机的社会心理功能和认知的有效措施。横截面和纵向结构方程模型（SEM）将测试积极的心理社会因素、认知和海马体积、区域皮质厚度、白色高信号体积和梗死的定量测量之间的关系。主要目标是描述积极的心理社会因素在晚年认知能力下降中的作用，并确定它们是否减少了脑病理学的结构MRI标记物对认知功能的影响。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Identifying potential targets for interventions to reduce age-related cognitive morbidity in diverse elders is of critical importance to the rapidly expanding aging population in the U.S. Substantial evidence from observational studies suggest that modifiable positive psychosocial factors (i.e., well-being, self-efficacy, social support) are associated with better cognitive functioning among older adults. These effects are independent of negative affect (e.g., depression). However, little attention has been given to subgroups of older adults who are particularly vulnerable to age-related cognitive morbidity: African Americans, Hispanics, and individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). In addition, it is unclear whether these positive psychosocial factors buffer against the negative cognitive effects of brain pathology, as measured with structural magnetic resonance imaging. This K99/R00 proposal lays the foundation for an independent research career focused on characterizing the mechanisms underlying psychosocial factors that protect against age-related cognitive morbidity among a diverse population. Together, the research and training plans will provide the applicant (1) supplementary training in modeling neuroimaging biomarker data in an aged population, (2) broader experience with psychosocial variables in aging, and (3) a strong foundation in cross-cultural neuropsychology. These experiences will supplement the applicant's strong existing background in geriatric neuropsychology and quantitative methods. The research plan expands an existing community-based longitudinal study of multi-ethnic older adults at Columbia University. This diverse population is followed every 18-24 months with cognitive testing, medical evaluation, health measures, and consensus diagnoses of MCI/dementia. A subset receives structural neuroimaging. This proposal adds well-validated, computer-based measures of psychosocial functioning and cognition from the NIH Toolbox. Cross-sectional and longitudinal structural equation models (SEM) will test relationships between positive psychosocial factors, cognition, and quantitated measures of hippocampal volume, regional cortical thickness, white matter hyperintensity volume, and infarcts. The primary goal is to characterize the role of positive psychosocial factors in late-life cognitive decline and to determine whether they reduce the impact of structural MRI markers of brain pathology on cognitive functioning.