PET AND FUNCTIONAL MRI STUDIES OF MEMORY LOSS WITH AGING

候选人的主要兴趣是研究大脑机制 潜在的精神状态，特别是与记忆变化有关的 在衰老过程中发生的功能。许多心理健康 衰老障碍的特征是记忆力异常下降。因此 拟议的研究应具有重要的影响， 衰老临床疾病的病理生理学。候选人的前 在临床心理学，事件相关电位（ERP）的培训， 神经心理学导致他目前对记忆随年龄变化的兴趣 以及用神经成像评估这些变化的方法。功能 神经成像技术，如正电子发射断层扫描（PET）和 功能性磁共振成像（fMRI），提供强大的工具， 用来检查认知任务中的大脑区域活动。在 此外，新的统计方法已经出现，如线性 结构关系建模（LISREL），可用于测试模型 描述了大脑功能和认知能力之间的关系。 旨在补充这一培训计划的研究项目包括 功能性神经影像激活技术的发展与应用 技术检查神经系统介导的记忆在年轻人和老年人 成年人了具体来说，候选人建议研究内隐技能 学习年轻人和老年人的科目。先前的认知研究 表明外显记忆随着年龄的增长而不断受损， 内隐记忆的变化取决于所检查的特定功能。为 例如，内隐记忆研究表明，技能学习可能 老年人的记忆力下降，而其他类型的内隐记忆，如 重复启动被保留。研究的初始阶段 项目将包括范式发展离线在年轻人和老年人 受试者，以及随后作为PET激活技术的应用， 年轻人（30-39岁）和老年人（70-79岁）。研究后期 项目将涉及类似科目的技能学习评估 功能性磁共振成像此外，一些受试者将同时接受PET和fMRI 在项目的这一阶段，为了提供数据， 两种技术的比较。LISREL分析将用于检验 大脑功能模型，包括与衰老相关的功能变化。

The Candidate's primary interest is in the study of brain mechanisms underling mental states, particularly in relation to changes in memory function that occur during the course of aging. Many mental health disorders of aging are characterized by abnormal memory decline. Thus, the proposed research should have important implications concerning the pathophysiology of clinical disorders of aging. The Candidate's previous training in clinical psychology, event-related potentials (ERP), and neuropsychology led to his current interest in memory changes with aging and methods of evaluating these changes with neuroimaging. Functional neuroimaging techniques, such as positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), provide powerful tools with which to examine regional brain activity during cognitive tasks. In addition, new statistical methods have become available, such as linear structural relations modeling (LISREL) which can be used to test models describing the relationship between brain function cognitive performance. The research project designed to complement this training program involves the development and application of functional neuroimaging activation techniques to examine neural systems mediating memory in young and elderly adults. Specifically, the Candidate proposes to study implicit skill learning in young and elderly subjects. Previous cognitive research indicates that explicit memory is consistently impaired with aging, while changes in implicit memory depend on the specific function examined. For instance, studies of implicit memory suggest that skill learning may decline in older adults, while other types of implicit memory, such as repetition priming are preserved. The initial phase of the research project will include paradigm development off-line in both young and old subjects, and subsequent application as an activation technique for PET in young (30-39) and elderly (70-79) adults. Later phases of the research project will involve the evaluation of skill learning in similar subjects with fMRI. In addition some of the subjects will receive both PET and fMRI during this phase of the project in order to provide data for direct comparisons of the two technologies. LISREL analyses will be used to test models of brain function, including changes in function related to aging.