National Institutes of Health's $3.4 Million Grant to Help Older People Stay Mobile
The National Institutes of Health has awarded a $3.4 million grant to 糖心破解版's and , to identify cognitive factors that influence mobility in older people鈥攊n particular, those that could be modified to help older people remain active.
鈥淢obility limitations and disability in aging are major public health concerns,鈥 said , principal investigator for the study and associate professor of psychology at Ferkauf and associate professor in the at Einstein. 鈥淲e will recruit 450 people age 70 and older for baseline and annual follow-ups over the five-year study period.鈥
Participants enrolled in the National Institute on Aging grant will undergo clinical, neuropsychological and physical exams as well as state-of-the art cognitive and neuroimaging assessments. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) technology, developed by the optical engineering group at Drexel University, will be used to assess changes in brain function during various walking conditions. 鈥淚deally, these assessments will reveal specific cognitive abilities and brain structures and functions that correlate with mobility problems or that predict their occurrence,鈥 said Dr. Holtzer. 鈥淭hen we want to see whether efforts to modify those factors, which include the ability to concentrate and allocate attention resources to competing task demands, can help in preventing mobility decline and disability in these individuals.鈥
The project, which began in March, is an interdisciplinary collaboration involving Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology; Einstein鈥檚 neurology and departments and its ; and the optical engineering group at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA.
"Dr. Holtzer's most recent research grant has important practical implications for developing a profile for predicting risk factors for serious mobility problems and potential for major physical injury by falling in the elderly," said Dr. Lawrence Siegel, dean and professor at Ferkauf. "Given the highly competitive environment for federal grant funding, Ferkauf is very proud of Dr. Holtzer and his receipt of this important grant. As a result of this grant Dr. Holtzer will also be able to fund a number of stipends for Ferkauf graduate students who are working with him on his research.鈥
