Structure of Semantic Memory and its Measurement in Dementia and Aphasia

描述(申请人提供)：在项目期间，我们将调查语义记忆(即存储的单词和对象意义的知识)的结构和退化情况，并开发可用于老年痴呆症阶段损害的语言和非语言语义记忆评估。受训者的长期目标是作为一名独立的调查员发展和维持这一方案研究路线。K-23指导奖将通过职业发展计划促进这一目标，该计划强调以下目标：1)提高受训人员对神经生理学和神经行为测量技术(例如，脑电、功能磁共振)的知识；2)提高受训人员临床研究设计和数据分析的知识；以及3)提高受训人员获得有竞争力的研究资金的技能。受训人员将在佛罗里达大学进行大部分研究，这是一所主要的研究型大学，其现场资源包括麦克奈特脑研究所(配备3特斯拉飞利浦磁共振扫描仪)、斯汉兹医院(I级创伤中心，设有卫星记忆障碍诊所，供患者招募)和马尔科姆·兰德尔退伍军人事务医疗中心的大脑康复研究中心(BRRC)。除了大量的研究基础设施外，UF还提供了一个杰出的智力社区，拥有认知神经科学和临床神经心理学方面的知名研究人员。K-23的主要导师包括Bruce Crosson，Ph.D.和Leslie Gonzalez-Rothi，Ph.D.，其他贡献者包括Murray Grossman，M.D.，Edith Kaan，Ph.D.，Wind Cowles，Ph.D.，Nadine Martin，Ph.D.和Lori Altmann，Ph.D.，具体目标如下：1)我们将使用空间敏感(即，fMRI)和时间敏感(即，ERP)测量来评估概念表征的神经基础，以支持生物受限的语义认知理论；2)我们将开发一种具有重测信度的心理测量学有效的语义记忆测量方法，该测量方法可用于痴呆患者语义记忆的多个成分的整合。这个组合的组成部分将包括知识：a)词义；b)感知特征；c)抽象属性；d)环境语境；e)联想关系；f)对象功能。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): During the project period we will investigate the structure and deterioration of semantic memory (i.e., stored knowledge of word and object meaning) and develop an assessment of verbal and nonverbal semantic memory that can be used to stage impairment in dementia. The trainee's long-term goal is to develop and sustain this programmatic line of research as an independent investigator. The K-23 mentored award will foster this goal through a career development plan that emphasizes the following objectives: 1)To advance the trainee's knowledge of neurophysiological and neurobehavioral measurement techniques (e.g., electroencephalography, fMRI); 2) To improve the trainee's knowledge of clinical research design and data analysis; and 3) To improve the trainee's skill in obtaining competitive research funding. The trainee will conduct the bulk of his research at the University of Florida, a major research university whose onsite resources include the McKnight Brain Institute (equipped with 3 Tesla Philips MR Scanner), Shands Hospital (level I trauma center with satellite memory disorders clinics for patient recruiting) and the Brain Rehabilitation Research Center (BRRC) of the Malcom Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center. In addition to substantial research infrastructure, UF offers an outstanding intellectual community with renowned researchers in cognitive neuroscience and clinical neuropsychology. Primary mentors for the K-23 include Bruce Crosson, Ph.D. and Leslie Gonzalez-Rothi, Ph.D. Additional contributors include Murray Grossman, M.D., Edith Kaan, Ph.D., Wind Cowles, Ph.D., Nadine Martin, Ph.D., and Lori Altmann, Ph.D. Specific aims are as follows: 1) We will assess the neural substrates of concept representation using both spatially sensitive (i.e., fMRI) and temporally sensitive (i.e, ERP) measures in support of a biologically-constrained theory of semantic cognition; 2) We will develop a psychometrically valid measure of semantic memory with test-retest reliability that can be used to stage the intergrity of multiple components of semantic memory in dementia. Components of this battery will include knowledge: a) word meaning; b) perceptual features; c) abstract attributes; d) environmental context; e) associative relationships; and f) object function.