PRECISION MAPPING OF FUNCTIONAL NETWORKS IN HEALTHY AND PATHOLOGICAL AGING - PROJECT SUMMARY FUNCTIONAL MAG…

Assistance award details

Assistance award identifier

ASST_NON_K00AG088569_075

FAIN

K00AG088569

Recipient

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

Awarding agency

Department of Health and Human Services

Funding agency

Department of Health and Human Services

Assistance listing (CFDA)

93.866

Total obligated

$180,701

Period

Sep 1, 2024 – Aug 31, 2029

Fiscal year

2025

Place of performance state

IL

Source file

FY2025_All_Assistance_Full_20261006.zip

Description

PRECISION MAPPING OF FUNCTIONAL NETWORKS IN HEALTHY AND PATHOLOGICAL AGING - PROJECT SUMMARY FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (FMRI) HAS BECOME A POWERFUL TOOL FOR STUDYING THE UNDERLYING FUNCTIONAL ARCHITECTURE OF BRAIN NETWORKS BY TRACKING TEMPORAL CORRELATIONS IN THE ACTIVITY OF DIFFERENT BRAIN REGIONS; A TECHNIQUE CALLED RESTING-STATE FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY (RS-FC). RECENTLY, INDIVIDUALIZED METHODS OF RS-FC HAVE REVEALED RELIABLE DIFFERENCES IN FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS AND GROUP AVERAGES THAT HAVE BEEN IMPLICATED WITH DIFFERENCES IN BEHAVIOR. THESE PRECISION FMRI METHODS INVOLVE COLLECTING EXTENDED AMOUNTS OF RS-FC DATA ACROSS MULTIPLE SESSIONS FOR EACH SUBJECT AND THE USE OF ADVANCED DENOISING TECHNIQUES TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF THE DATA. INDIVIDUAL-SPECIFIC NETWORKS HAVE NOT BEEN EXAMINED IN OLDER ADULTS YET, EVEN THOUGH GROUP-AVERAGE STUDIES SUGGEST THAT BRAIN NETWORKS CHANGE SYSTEMATICALLY OVER THE COURSE OF THE LIFESPAN AND AS A FUNCTION OF DISEASE, BOTH IN CORTICAL AND CEREBELLAR REGIONS. I PROPOSE THE USE OF A DATASET OF HIGHLY SAMPLED OLDER ADULTS, AGES 60-75 (N = 38), AND YOUNGER ADULTS, AGES 18-30 (N = 38), TO CREATE INDIVIDUAL-SPECIFIC PARCELLATIONS AND NETWORK REPRESENTATIONS USING HIGH-QUALITY ANATOMICAL AND RS-FC DATA. IN AIM 1, I WILL EXAMINE WHETHER THE PROPERTIES OF INDIVIDUALIZED NETWORKS IN OLDER ADULTS DIFFER COMPARED TO YOUNG ADULTS. IN AIM 2, I WILL EXAMINE WHETHER THE NETWORKS AFFECTED IN ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE (AD) DIFFER FROM THOSE AFFECTED IN HEALTHY AGING, PARTICULARLY IN THE CEREBELLUM. PRELIMINARY DATA SUGGESTS THAT, WITH SUFFICIENT HIGH-QUALITY DATA, CORTICAL NETWORKS IN YOUNG ADULTS ARE STABLE ACROSS DAYS (R > 0.85), SUPPORTING THEIR ENDOPHENOTYPIC NATURE AND POTENTIAL FOR USE AS BIOMARKERS. THIS STUDY WILL BE THE FIRST TO USE INDIVIDUALIZED MEASURES IN OLDER ADULTS TO PROVIDE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF NEURODEVELOPMENTAL CHANGES TO RS-FC THAT MAY BE RELEVANT TO BEHAVIOR. INDIVIDUALIZED NETWORK TOPOLOGY HAS