ELUCIDATING THE INFLUENCE OF OVARIAN AGING AND ENDOCRINE SHIFTS ON SPATIAL NAVIGATION, AS AN EARLY DIAGNOST…
Federal financial assistance recorded from USAspending. This is not a procurement contract.
Assistance award details
- Assistance award identifier
- ASST_NON_K00AG095134_075
- FAIN
- K00AG095134
- Recipient
- UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IRVINE
- Awarding agency
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Funding agency
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Assistance listing (CFDA)
- 93.866
- Total obligated
- $84,189
- Period
- Sep 21, 2025 – May 31, 2030
- Fiscal year
- 2026
- Place of performance state
- CA
- Source file
- FY2026_All_Assistance_Full_20261006.zip
Description
ELUCIDATING THE INFLUENCE OF OVARIAN AGING AND ENDOCRINE SHIFTS ON SPATIAL NAVIGATION, AS AN EARLY DIAGNOSTIC TARGET FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE - PROJECT SUMMARY THE ABILITY TO NAVIGATE IS A CRUCIAL COMPONENT OF DAILY LIFE, AND AROUND THE EMERGENCE OF PUBERTY, MEN BEGIN TO OUTPERFORM WOMEN IN NAVIGATION TASKS THAT REQUIRE AN ACCURATE âCOGNITIVE MAP,â OR AN INTERNAL REPRESENTATION OF AN ENVIRONMENT. AFTER PUBERTY, THERE ARE TWO CRITICAL ASPECTS TO OVARIAN HORMONES THAT POTENTIALLY SHAPE THIS TRAJECTORY: 1) THE SHORT-TERM FLUCTUATIONS THAT OCCUR DURING THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE, AND 2) THE LONGER-TERM, SWEEPING CHANGES IN HORMONES THAT OCCUR ACROSS THE MENOPAUSAL TRANSITION. UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF OVARIAN HORMONES ON NAVIGATION ABILITY IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE ABILITY TO NAVIGATE IS ONE OF THE EARLIEST COGNITIVE ABILITIES TO BE AFFECTED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALZHEIMERâS DISEASE (AD), AND WOMEN ACCOUNT FOR 2/3RDS OF ALL LATE-ONSET CASES. THE NEURAL CIRCUITRY IMPLICATED IN AD AND SPATIAL NAVIGATION OVERLAP SUBSTANTIALLY (E.G., THE MEDIAL TEMPORAL LOBE [MTL]), AND IN ANIMAL MODELS AND SOME HUMAN STUDIES, ESTRADIOL HAS A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE ABILITY TO NAVIGATE. HOWEVER, LITTLE IS UNDERSTOOD ABOUT HOW SEX HORMONES AFFECT NAVIGATION IN WOMEN, AND IF AGING EXACERBATES THESE EFFECTS. EVEN LESS IS KNOWN AS TO HOW THESE MECHANISMS CONTRIBUTE TO THE DISPROPORTIONATE RATE AT WHICH WOMEN ARE AFFECTED BY AD. THIS PROPOSAL WILL ESTABLISH THE ROLE OF OVARIAN HORMONES IN ACQUIRING SPATIAL KNOWLEDGE, BOTH AT THE CYCLE-PHASE LEVEL AND IN REGARDS TO ENDOCRINE AGING. IN THE F99 PHASE (AIM 1), I WILL DETERMINE ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN OVARIAN HORMONES AND NAVIGATION IN YOUNG WOMEN BETWEEN THE AGES OF 18-40. FIRST, I WILL ASSESS THE IMPACT OF THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE ON NAVIGATION ABILITY AND STRATEGY (N=60) IN NATURALLY CYCLING YOUNG WOMEN ACROSS TWO TIMEPOINTSâONE OF LOW ESTRADIOL (THE EARLY FOLLICULAR PHASE) AND ONE OF HIGH ESTRADIOL (THE OVULATORY WINDOW/LUTEAL PHASE). THE STUDY WILL TAKE A