# Viscoelastic and volumetric contributions to age-related cognitive decline

> **NIH NIH R03** · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN · 2020 · $79,300

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
It is well understood that typical aging is accompanied by characteristic declines in fluid cognitive abilities as
well as declines in the structural integrity of the brain. Structural integrity has typically been inferred from
measures of brain volume. Volume, however, is a gross measure that cannot account for smaller-scale
changes that may be contributing to diminished cognitive outcomes. Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE)
is an emerging tool for acquiring noninvasive measures of the mechanical properties of biological tissue. As
such, MRE provides a measure of the microstructural health of the tissue. The proposed work seeks (1) to
assess the utility of MRE as a complementary tool to volumetric analysis in the study of human learning and
memory and also (2) to establish MRE as a critically sensitive method for mapping degeneration in the aging
brain, particularly when volumetric outcomes are equivocal. Volumetric, MRE, and cognitive data will be
collected from 80 participants between the ages of 45 and 85. The cognitive assessment will measure both
relational memory abilities (dependent on hippocampal function) and implicit sequence learning abilities
(dependent on striatal function). Volumetric and MRE analyses will focus on the hippocampus and striatum
specifically. These data will be used to examine the relationship between relational memory performance and
both hippocampal volume and MRE-derived hippocampal viscoelasticity, as well as implicit sequence learning
and both striatal volume and viscoelasticity, to explore the unique contribution of each to behavior. It is
expected that, compared to volumetric measures alone, viscoelasticity measures will provide additional
explanatory power when investigating the impact of tissue integrity on cognitive outcomes. This work will
establish MRE as a useful tool for the study of cognitive neuroscience of aging and highlight the importance of
choosing appropriate neuroimaging tools when assessing structural integrity. The resulting data will have
important implications for tracking structural changes that impact cognitive abilities in typical aging as well as
the diagnosis and tracking of treatment outcomes for patients with hippocampal (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease) and
striatal (e.g., Parkinson’s disease) impairments.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10128882
- **Project number:** 1R03AG065894-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
- **Principal Investigator:** Hillary Schwarb
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $79,300
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-30 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10128882

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10128882, Viscoelastic and volumetric contributions to age-related cognitive decline (1R03AG065894-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10128882. Licensed CC0.

---

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