# Neurocognitive mechanisms of reward - motivated memory persistence across age

> **NIH NIH K01** · EMORY UNIVERSITY · 2023 · $160,658

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
 My career goal is to a lead a research group that investigates the neurocognitive development of
motivationally-salient memory formation and how persistent memories influence behaviors that can increase
risk for substance use disorders. To acquire the necessary skills to lead a team pursuing this line of research, I
propose a project that aims to examine the neural mechanisms underlying reward-motivated memory, the
influence of previously learned reward value on new learning, and the impact of real-world positive affect states
on memory processes from childhood to adulthood. My training to date has provided me with a strong
methodological and theoretical foundation in developmental cognitive neuroscience and basic behavioral
neuroscience research. My career development plan builds on this knowledge base by providing crucial,
intensive training in the study of reward-motivated memory and its relation to addiction, multivariate analyses of
neuroimaging data, computational modeling, and ecological momentary assessment methods. Completion of
the proposed research and training will prepare me to lead a lab that uses a translational approach to study
appetitive and aversive motivated memory processes and how they guide future behaviors across
development, using sophisticated computational and neuroimaging approaches.
 Research Project: Experimentation with addictive substances often begins during adolescence,
increasing the risk of progression to addiction. Normative developmental changes in mesolimbic dopamine
systems, which drive adolescent reward sensitivity and motivated behaviors, alongside changes in
hippocampal memory systems may yield vulnerability to substance abuse during adolescence. While a rich
body of research has focused on how reward sensitivity drives reactive and consummatory behaviors during
adolescence, few studies have investigated how this sensitivity shapes memory and future choices. The goal
of the proposed research is to investigate age-related changes in reward-motivated memory persistence that
may contribute to substance abuse from childhood to adulthood, spanning the transition into and out of
adolescence. We hypothesize that adolescent reward sensitivity enhances the persistence of reward-motivated
memories, yielding greater susceptibility to substance abuse. The first study (Aim 1) will identify age-related
changes in the neural mechanisms supporting reward-motivated memories. The second study (Aim 2) will
determine how reward-motivated experiences and related brain activity influence subsequent learning across
age. Finally, the third study will investigate how real-world affective states influence memory and its relation to
substance use and mesolimbic dopamine system connectivity across age (Aim 3). Understanding the
neurocognitive mechanisms through which rewards modulate memory and guide future behaviors across age
– both in the lab and in the real-world – may provide key insights into how to ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10565930
- **Project number:** 5K01DA053438-03
- **Recipient organization:** EMORY UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Alexandra Cohen
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $160,658
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-08-01 → 2027-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10565930

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10565930, Neurocognitive mechanisms of reward - motivated memory persistence across age (5K01DA053438-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10565930. Licensed CC0.

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