Integrating the Social Context, Sensory Functioning, and Inflammation in a Longitudinal Study of Cognitive Aging and Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias

项目摘要/摘要 对认知障碍和阿尔茨海默病及相关痴呆(ADRD)的研究表明 暴露在丰富或刺激的社会环境中--即社会复杂性--可能会减缓与年龄有关的认知 减少和延缓ADRD的发生或进展。这一领域的大多数研究都考虑到了社会性 近端(例如，社交网络、社交活动)或远端(例如，邻居)环境中的复杂性 形状认知。此外，先前关于社会复杂性和认知的研究主要是分开进行的 从现有的理解认知衰老和ADRD的生理学框架出发。通过这个K01，Dr。 Alyssa Goldman将整合现有关于感官系统和炎症在塑造过程中的作用的研究 认知功能减退和ADRD，并研究这些关联是如何通过近端 和远端社会的复杂性随着时间的推移。戈德曼博士的长期目标是领导一个社会科学研究项目 它使用创新的方法来更好地理解认知功能和ADRD的社会途径。 K01奖将支持这一目标，延长她之前作为社会学家的培训，发展她 了解并掌握以下方面的技能：(1)认知衰老的生理学、ADRD、感觉功能和 炎症，(2)对认知、感觉功能和炎症的客观评估。 量表，家庭调查方法，(3)纵向分析的先进方法，以及(4)赠款撰写和 职业发展。在培训的同时，本项目有三个研究目标：(1)确定 近端和远端社交复杂性的暴露变化如何共同塑造认知和ADRD，(2) 确定近端和远端社交复杂性如何与嗅觉相关联，其方式可能 认知轨迹和ADRD，以及(3)确定社交复杂性的近端和远端 与炎症有关，这可能解释了认知和ADRD的变化。培训和 这项提案的研究目标将由一个由认知领域有成就的专家组成的指导委员会监督。 以及ADRD、感觉系统、慢性炎症、衰老和社会背景。这项研究将产生 关于近端和远端社会因素对认知衰退和ADRD的集体影响的新见解。此外， 这项研究将考察社会复杂性如何塑造嗅觉和炎症的轨迹作为机制 在具有全国代表性的老年人样本中，社会复杂性与认知健康之间的关系 成年人。这些认知和ADRD的生理框架还没有在社会环境中得到体现 各种因素。这项研究将开发社交网络变化的创新衡量标准，这些衡量标准在很大程度上是理论化的， 这可以应用于未来对认知老化和其他健康轨迹的研究。培训和 该奖项的研究活动将使戈德曼博士具备成为一名独立调查员的技能。 感官系统的社会背景、疾病过程及其与认知和ADRD的关系。

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Research into cognitive impairments and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) suggests that exposure to enriching or stimulating social contexts – i.e., social complexity – may slow age-related cognitive decline and delay the onset or progression of ADRD. Most research in this area has considered how social complexity in either the proximal (e.g., social network, social activities) or distal (e.g., neighborhood) contexts shape cognition. Additionally, prior research on social complexity and cognition is conducted largely separately from existing physiological frameworks for understanding cognitive aging and ADRD. Through this K01, Dr. Alyssa Goldman will integrate existing research on the roles of sensory systems and inflammation in shaping cognitive decline and ADRD, and examine how these associations are informed by changes in both proximal and distal social complexity over time. Dr. Goldman’s long-term goal is to lead a social science research program that uses innovative approaches to better understand the social pathways of cognitive functioning and ADRD. The K01 Award will support this goal by extending her prior training as a sociologist, developing her understanding of and skills in: (1) the physiology of cognitive aging, ADRD, sensory functioning, and inflammation, (2) the objective assessment of cognition, sensory functioning, and inflammation through large- scale, in-home survey methods, (3) advanced methods for longitudinal analysis, and (4) grant writing and professional development. In parallel with this training, this project has three research aims: (1) to determine how changes in exposure to proximal and distal social complexity collectively shape cognition and ADRD, (2) to determine how proximal and distal social complexity are associated with olfaction, in ways that may shape trajectories of cognition and ADRD, and (3) to determine how proximal and distal social complexity are associated with inflammation, in ways that may explain changes in cognition and ADRD. The training and research goals of this proposal will be overseen by a mentorship committee of accomplished experts in cognition and ADRD, sensory systems, chronic inflammation, and aging and the social context. This study will generate new insights on the collective impact of proximal and distal social factors on cognitive decline and ADRD. Further, this study will examine how social complexity shapes trajectories of olfaction and inflammation as mechanisms in the relationship between social complexity and cognitive health in a nationally-representative sample of older adults. These physiological frameworks of cognition and ADRD have yet to be contextualized in terms of social factors. This study will develop innovative measures of social network change, which are largely undertheorized, and that can be applied to future studies of cognitive aging and other health trajectories. The training and research activities of this award will equip Dr. Goldman with the skills to succeed as an independent investigator of the social context of sensory systems, disease processes, and their relationships with cognition and ADRD.