Age-related changes of cognition in health and disease

描述(由申请人提供)：它代表了一系列关于认知、神经成像、遗传和病理测量的紧密结合的研究，涉及衰老和阿尔茨海默病(AD)之间的界限。我们研究的首要目标仍然是表征阿尔茨海默病(AD)的前驱阶段，并将其与正常衰老相关的变化区分开来，以便预测谁将在个人发展为可诊断的痴呆症之前多年发展为AD。我们将评估的对象包括三组个人；我们目前正在跟踪的人(称为队列1和2)和第三组(我们建议招募的队列3，以便为与对象的纵向分析提供足够的样本量)。四个相互关联的领域包括：神经心理评估(Albert项目)、单光子发射计算机断层扫描(SPECT)(Johnson项目)、结构磁共振成像(MRI)(Killiany项目)和功能磁共振成像(FMRI)(Sperling项目)。四个核心将为项目提供必要的支持：行政和临床核心将负责受试者的招募、评估和后续工作，数据管理和统计核心将维持一个中央数据库，提供统计咨询和完成综合和复杂的统计分析；遗传学核心将提供基因分型，神经病理学核心将提供来尸检的受试者的定量神经病理数据，并将每年评估受试者的血浆A-β。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): It represents a closely integrated series of studies on cognitive, neuroimaging, genetic and pathologic measures concerning the boundary between aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD). The overarching goal of our research continues to be to characterize the prodromal phase of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to differentiate it from changes related to normal aging, in order to predict who will develop AD many years before individuals develop a diagnosable dementia. The subjects we will evaluate consist of three groups of individuals; those we are currently following (known as Cohort 1 and 2) and a third cohort (Cohort 3 that we propose to recruit to provide sufficient sample size for longitudinal analyses with the subjects). Four interrelated areas are included: Neuropsychological assessment (Project by Albert), Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) (Project by Johnson), structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (Project by Killiany) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) (Project by Sperling). Four Cores will provide essential support to the projects: the Administrative and Clinical Core will be responsible for subject recruitment, evaluation, and follow-up, the Data Management and Statistical Core will maintain a central Database, provide statistical consultation and complete integrative and complex statistical analyses; the Genetics Core will provide genotyping and the Neuropathology Core will provide quantitative neuropathological data on subjects who come to autopsy and will evaluate plasma A-beta annually on the subjects.