Links between affect, executive function, and prefrontal structure in aging: A longitudinal analysis

项目总结 许多研究表明，在衰老过程中，情感、执行功能和前额叶结构之间存在联系 在横断面设计中利用个体间差异的研究。建议进行的研究 调查是否可以使用可利用的纵向设计来复制这些关联 个人内部的变化以及个人之间的差异。使用现有的核磁共振和行为数据 为了其他目的而收集的，这项拟议的研究将评估情感变化是否与 老年人的执行变化(目标1)以及这些变化是否由扣带回或 前额叶结构(目标2)。 目前还没有关于大脑结构的变化如何与情感以及 老年人的认知变化，因此从这种方法中可以学到很多东西。如果结果证实 在横断面研究中揭示的关联，这将为未来的研究提供坚实的基础 检查以下问题：这些关联的变化是否可以作为病理性疾病的生物标志物 老龄化；无论是生活方式还是其他保持或丰富老年人执行功能的干预措施也都有 对他们的情感健康产生积极影响；或者是否存在与年龄相关的轨迹将个人设定为 情感性精神障碍的风险。如果结果不能证实横断面数据所揭示的关联性，这 将为未来的研究带来一个同样重要的方向：检查是否存在特定的年龄 关联所在的区带，或关联较强的参与者子集，或 这些关联的理论是否需要修改，以解释由变异性驱动的关联 在个人之间，而不是在个人内部。

PROJECT SUMMARY Links between affect, executive function, and prefrontal structure in aging have been suggested in many studies that capitalize on between-individual differences within cross-sectional designs. The proposed study investigates whether these associations can be replicated using a longitudinal design that can capitalize on within-individual change as well as between-individual differences. Using existing MRI and behavioral data that were collected for other purposes, the proposed research will assess whether affective change relates to executive change in older adults (Aim 1) and whether these changes are mediated by changes in cingulate or prefrontal structure (Aim 2). There has not yet been a longitudinal analysis of how changes in brain structure relate to affective as well as cognitive change in older adults, and thus there is much to be learned from this approach. If the results confirm the associations revealed in cross-sectional studies, this would provide a strong foundation for future research to examine questions such as: whether a change in these associations could be a biomarker for pathological aging; whether lifestyle or other interventions that preserve or enrich older adults’ executive function also have positive impacts on their affective wellbeing; or whether there are age-related trajectories that set individuals at risk for affective disorders. If the results do not confirm the associations revealed in cross-sectional data, this would lead to an equally important future direction for research: to examine whether there are particular age bands over which the associations hold, or subsets of participants for whom the associations are strong, or whether theories of these associations need to be modified to explain associations that are driven by variability between, but not within, individual.