# AGE-RELATED CHANGES IN ALERTNESS AND VISUAL PROCESSING

> **NIH NIH R01** · OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY · 1991 · $90,646

## Abstract

The goal of this study is to characterize the neurophysiologic
mechanisms underlying the age-related decline in human visual cognitive
function.  This research will delineate specific neurophysiologic
measures of subcortical functions that contribute to the age-related
decline in cognitive function.  It is hypothesized that the impairment of
the sub, cortical function of alertness contributes to the age-related
decrement in visual cognitive function and is related to right hemisphere
dysfunction.
     Alertness is experimentally modulated in a double blind
placebo-controlled drug study using a CNS depressant (diphenhydramine)
and CNS stimulant (methylphenidate).  Alertness is operationally defined
using computerized EEG frequency analysis; slow later" al eye movements;
blink rate; sympathetic nervous system activity (skin blood flow based,
on laser Doppler velocimetry); parasympathetic nervous system activity
(heart rate, variability).  Visual cognitive function is assessed by
performance on serial and parallel search tasks and a directed attention
task.  Measures of cognitive performance include: reaction time;
accuracy; variability of reaction time.
     The hypothesis will be tested with 120 subjects, 60 in each of 2 age
groups, 25-35 years and 65-75 years.  Subjects will participate on 5
separate mornings.  On each morning they will be given either a placebo,
0.5 mg/Kg diphenhydramine, 1 mg/Kg diphenhydramine: 0.1 mg/Kg
methylphenidate or 0.2 mg/Kg methylphenidate.  They will perform the
cognitive tasks before and after administration of each drug condition.
     The research impacts clinical management of patients with cognitive
deficits.  Clinicians will be provided with measurement tools to document
alertness deficits in cognitively impaired patients with subcortical
lesions secondary to aging, focal lesions, neurodegenerative diseases and
medications.  If deficits in alertness can be measured and contribute to
cognitive decline in the elderly, then strategies to increase alertness
could be offered by clinicians.  This may be particularly helpful in
problem areas for the elderly such as driving and ambulation, where
intermittent lapses in alertness or attention may produce significant
injury.  The normative data for cognitive function does not presently
account for the subject's level of alertness.  Since the level of
alertness may account for a large amount of the variability in cognitive
function, especially in the elderly and neurologically impaired
population, the definition of a measurable state of alertness will
improve the sensitivity and specificity of all clinical cognitive
testing.GRANT=R35AG09014
     The aim of this LEAD application is to test the value of examining
cellular and molecular abnormalities in extra-neural tissues from
patients with Alzheimer's disease (DAT).  It will test whether or not
reported abnormalities relate to the presence of -the clinical syndrome
of DAT or certain of its subgroups (familial vs sporadic,...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3120447
- **Project number:** 1R01AG008714-01A2
- **Recipient organization:** OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
- **SAM.gov UEI:** NPSNT86JKN51
- **Principal Investigator:** Barry S Oken
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1991
- **Award amount:** $90,646
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 1991-05-01 → 1996-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3120447

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3120447, AGE-RELATED CHANGES IN ALERTNESS AND VISUAL PROCESSING (1R01AG008714-01A2). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3120447. Licensed CC0.

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