FACE-NAME ASSOCIATION: FMRI STUDIES IN AGING & MILD AD
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DESCRIPTION (Adapted from the application): This is an application for a K23-Mentored Patient-Oriented Career Development Award entitled "Face-Name Association: fMRI Studies in Aging & Mild AD". The primary goal of the proposed research is to utilize fMRI to investigate the functional networks subserving "relational" explicit memory tasks, such as face-name association, and to examine the alterations in this network that occur in normal aging and mild AD. The ability to learn and remember associations between components of newly acquired information, such as names and faces, is an essential memory requirement of everyday life. Moreover, difficulty recalling proper names is the most common memory complaint of older individuals, raising fears of an underlying neurodegenerative disease, such as Alzheimer s disease (AD). Functional MRI (fMRI) is a powerful new technique for investigating the neural substrates of cognition, and provides an excellent opportunity to study complex memory processes, such as face-name association. It is hypothesized that face-name association will require the integration of multiple brain regions, including the fusiform gyrus, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the hippocampal formation, that will be differentially affected by the processes of normal aging and mild AD. An integrated series of cognitive and imaging studies is planned to address the following questions: 1) What is the functional anatomy of memory for face-name associations in young individuals? 2) What functional alterations occur in the brain during these tasks with normal aging? 3) How are the functional changes that occur in mild AD different from those seen in normal aging? 4) Is it feasible to develop fMRI during face-name association tasks as a surrogate marker of response to pharmacologic therapy in AD patients? This functional dissection of the explicit memory network using a clinically relevant task will provide new and important insights about memory alterations that occur with age and in early AD. In order to achieve these goals, the candidate seeks training in 1) fMRI physics and analytic techniques, 2) cognitive neuroscience methodology relevant to explicit memory, and 3) clinical research design and analysis. The proposed research plan, didactic courses, and tutorial instruction from mentors and advisors will serve to foster the candidate's development into an independent clinical researcher in the field of functional neuroimaging and neurodegenerative disease.
