Self-Regulation and Brain and Cognitive Health in Older Adults

总结典型的老年人经历的大脑结构和认知功能下降，但这些意味着下降发生在可能是非常不同的个人轨迹的背景下。这个项目的目的是测量个体差异和自我调节(对思想、情绪、行为和冲动的控制)随时间的变化，并将自我调节与身体活动、炎症和与阿尔茨海默病发展相关的神经认知健康的轨迹联系起来。这是这项纵向研究的竞争性更新，该研究始于2001年，2006年获得R01资金，由一个拥有老龄化、自我调节、运动科学、神经心理学、神经成像、阿尔茨海默氏症以及纵向设计和分析专业知识的研究团队提交。上一次更新的重点是自我调节各方面之间的关系，以及它们与免疫学和心血管健康的关系。更新继续对这些措施进行评估，以在这一纵向数据集中提供连续性，并在纳入重复神经成像和传染病负担评估方面增加创新。具体地说，这项研究的目的是：(1)测试自我调节的各个方面(尽责、自我调节、执行认知功能和心率变异性)对与衰老和阿尔茨海默病风险相关的神经认知健康的测量的影响；(2)测试自我调节和神经认知健康之间的关系在多大程度上受体力活动和炎症的调节；(3)测试与执行认知功能(例如，额叶背外侧体积)相关的神经认知健康是否有助于更好的自我调节、更高的体力活动和更低的炎症；以及(4)测试传染病负担(潜伏病毒，弓形虫)对自我调节、炎症和神经认知健康以及阿尔茨海默病风险的影响。每隔6个月，老年人(N=175)将完成自我报告自我调节的测量；执行认知功能，包括抑制、转移和工作记忆；以及静态心率变异性。体力活动、BMI和腰围将在每次就诊时测量。抽血将与这些访问同步进行，对这些样本进行的分析将捕获血清促炎细胞因子和针对潜伏感染的抗体。样本有从1-15年的许多测量的随访数据，并且符合条件的子集(N=90)将已经有基线神经成像。神经成像将每两年重复两次。此次更新将在以下方面具有创新性：对包括大脑、行为和免疫在内的动态系统的纵向评估；神经成像测量与其他健康和不健康老龄化领域的整合；以及神经认知健康的多模式评估，包括与阿尔茨海默病和其他痴呆风险相关的测量：主观认知健康、认知功能、体积成像测量、连通性、各向异性分数和静息脑血流量。

Summary The typical older adult experiences declines in brain structure and cognitive function, but these mean declines occur in the context of what can be very different individual trajectories. The purpose of this project is to measure individual differences and changes in self-regulation (control of thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and impulses) over time in older adults, and to link self-regulation to physical activity, inflammation, and trajectories of neurocognitive health relevant to development of Alzheimer’s disease. This is a competing renewal of this longitudinal study, which began in 2001 and received R01 funding in 2006, submitted by a research team with expertise in aging, self-regulation, exercise science, neuropsychology, neuroimaging, Alzheimer’s disease, and longitudinal design and analysis. The previous renewal period focused on relationships among facets of self-regulation and their relationship to immunological and cardiovascular health. The renewal continues assessment of these measures to provide continuity in this longitudinal dataset and adds innovation in the inclusion of repeated neuroimaging and assessment of infectious disease burden. Specifically, the aims of the study are: (1) to test the effects of facets of self-regulation (conscientiousness, self-regulation, executive cognitive function, and heart rate variability) on measures of neurocognitive health associated with aging and risk for Alzheimer’s disease; (2) to test the degree to which the relationship between self-regulation and neurocognitive health is mediated by physical activity and inflammation; (3) to test whether neurocognitive health associated with executive cognitive functions (e.g., dorsolateral frontal lobe volume) contributes to better self-regulation, higher physical activity, and lower inflammation; and (4) to test effects of infectious disease burden (latent viruses, Toxoplasma gondii) on self-regulation, inflammation, and neurocognitive health and risk for Alzheimer’s disease. At 6-month intervals, older adults (N = 175) will complete measures of self-reported self-regulation; executive cognitive functions including inhibition, shifting, and working memory; and resting HRV. Physical activity, BMI, and waist circumference will be measured at each visit. Blood draws will be synchronized with these visits, and assays performed on these samples will capture serum proinflammatory cytokines and antibodies against latent infections. The sample has follow-back data on many of these measures from 1-15 years, and an eligible subset (N = 90) will already have baseline neuroimaging. Neuroimaging will be repeated twice at 2-year intervals. This renewal will be innovative in its longitudinal assessment of a dynamic system that includes brain, behavior, and immunity; integration of neuroimaging measures with other domains of healthy and unhealthy aging; and multimodal assessment of neurocognitive health, including measures associated with risk for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias: subjective cognitive health, cognitive function, volumetric imaging measures, connectivity, fractional anisotropy, and resting cerebral blood flow.