# AGE-RELATED CHANGES IN ALERTNESS AND VISUAL PROCESSING

> **NIH NIH R01** · OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY · 1993 · $96,153

## 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.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3120449
- **Project number:** 5R01AG008714-03
- **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:** 1993
- **Award amount:** $96,153
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1991-05-01 → 1996-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3120449

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3120449, AGE-RELATED CHANGES IN ALERTNESS AND VISUAL PROCESSING (5R01AG008714-03). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3120449. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*