The Effects of Moderate Alcohol Use In Age Related Cognitive Decline

Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Winston-Salem NC

Investigators

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Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This research will measure the effect of moderate alcohol consumption on age-related cognitive decline in older adults (e65, d80 years old). Alcohol use can negatively affect several aspects of everyday life, including the ability to make decisions, remember in both the short and long term, and pay attention. The normal aging process has also been shown to affect these behaviors, contributing to what is referred to as age-related cognitive decline. Alcohol consumption in older adults is on the rise. This is in part due to a progressively more permissive attitude towards social drinking over the last century. This study will measure the effect of moderate alcohol consumption on important cognitive abilities in older adults. Functional connectivity among brain areas will be measured by applying network theory principles to functional magnetic resonance imaging brain data collected during rest and working memory task performance. This is a novel and comprehensive way of analyzing functional information in systems that are as interconnected as the brain. This study will explore the driving hypothesis that moderate older drinkers will demonstrate greater age-related cognitive deficits than low older drinkers. We predict that cognitive deficits will be relaed to measurable changes in functional brain connectivity. Understanding how social drinking in older age affects age-related cognitive decline will help identify adults who are at risk of accelerating impairments due to alcohol consumption. My overarching training goal is to become an effective and innovative researcher in the study of human alcohol consumption and eventually, abuse. The training received as part of this proposal will help develop the skills and the intellectual framework necessary to achieve my goal.