Cholinergic Mechanisms of Attention in Aging

Description

This study will use an anticholinergic pharmacological probe to examine attention network function in SCD using EEG. The overall hypothesis is that in older adults with SCD, normal cognitive performance is maintained by compensatory attention network activity, supported by enhanced cholinergic function. The investigators anticipate that SCD will be associated with greater compensatory attention network activity and that disrupting this compensatory process through anticholinergic challenge will result in a greater negative effect on attentional performance (Attention Network Test, ANT) and attention network functioning (EEG) in older adults with SCD compared to those without SCD.

Conditions

Subjective Cognitive Decline

Study Overview

Study Details

Study overview

This study will use an anticholinergic pharmacological probe to examine attention network function in SCD using EEG. The overall hypothesis is that in older adults with SCD, normal cognitive performance is maintained by compensatory attention network activity, supported by enhanced cholinergic function. The investigators anticipate that SCD will be associated with greater compensatory attention network activity and that disrupting this compensatory process through anticholinergic challenge will result in a greater negative effect on attentional performance (Attention Network Test, ANT) and attention network functioning (EEG) in older adults with SCD compared to those without SCD.

Cholinergic Mechanisms of Attention in Aging

Cholinergic Mechanisms of Attention in Aging

Condition
Subjective Cognitive Decline
Intervention / Treatment

-

Contacts and Locations

Nashville

Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, United States, 37212

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

For general information about clinical research, read Learn About Studies.

Eligibility Criteria

  • 1. age ≥ 55
  • 2. Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) \> 25 AND Global Deterioration Scale (GDS) rating \< 3
  • 3. Non-smokers
  • 1. medical contraindications to the drug challenge
  • 2. primary neurological disorder (such as stroke, epilepsy, etc.)

Ages Eligible for Study

55 Years to

Sexes Eligible for Study

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Collaborators and Investigators

Vanderbilt University Medical Center,

Paul Newhouse, MD, STUDY_DIRECTOR, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Study Record Dates

2025-05-30