# NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

> **NIH NIH R01** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 1993 · $119,039

## Abstract

DESCRIPTION (Investigator's Abstract):   The purpose of the proposed
research is to compare recent memory functions in preclinical individuals
at the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD) to age and eduction
matched controls.  Disturbed memory for recent events is a prominent
symptom of Alzheimer's disease.  On neuropsychological testing,
significant impairments in recall and recognition (explicit memory) are
particularly apparent early in the disease.  In contrast, other aspects of
recent memory not dependent on conscious recall (implicit memory) are
relatively spared. Dissociation in memory functions such as this may prove
useful in distinguishing normal elderly individuals from those with early
AD.  However, whether memory change forms an early signature of impending
AD remains undetermined and difficult to study as affected individuals
without clear symptoms do not generally reach medical attention.  To
optimize the early identification of AD, this project prospectively
studies a unique population at a higher risk of developing the disorder by
virtue of a strong family history of confirmed AD.  Subjects will be
followed longitudinally with a series of traditional neuropsychological
tests and with experimental memory measures.  Three experimental memory
paradigms will be used to determine recall, recognition, forgetting rates,
recently judgement and implicit priming in order to assess whether
dissociations in recent memory functions as seen in AD patients are
predictive of incipient disease.  Several major questions will be
addressed:1) Do persons at risk for AD differ as a group from age and
education matched controls in baseline measures of recent memory function
at the beginning of the proposed longitudinal study?  2) Are persons with
the poorest memory performance at baseline at greater risk for developing
AD dementia?  3) Is there a greater decline in recent memory functions in
persons at risk for AD than in age and education matched controls, and 4)
Is there a characteristic profile of memory outcomes which reliably
predicts those at-risk individuals who develop AD over the course of
study?

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3121951
- **Project number:** 5R01AG009997-02
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **SAM.gov UEI:** TP7EK8DZV6N5
- **Principal Investigator:** KATHLEEN Anne WELSH-BOHMER
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1993
- **Award amount:** $119,039
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1992-09-30 → 1997-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3121951

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3121951, NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (5R01AG009997-02). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3121951. Licensed CC0.

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