# Longitudinal impact of midlife cerebrovascular pulsatility on brain tissue integrity and cognitive aging

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE · 2024 · $768,427

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Normal aging is associated with a gradual decline in cognitive abilities across the lifespan, which is accelerated
by midlife vascular risk factors, including stiffening of the large elastic arteries. The purpose of this project is to
determine whether arterial stiffness is an early contributor to cognitive aging through the transmission of
damaging pulsatile energy into the brain. Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is a non-invasive imaging
modality that detects the viscoelastic properties of tissue and serves as a sensitive biomarker of brain tissue
health and microstructural integrity. MRE has shown that brain tissue softening occurs with normal aging and
likely precedes gross tissue atrophy. This 3-year longitudinal study seeks to determine the underlying
mechanisms linking midlife vascular risk factors with the early loss of brain tissue structure and function. We will
(1) determine the early mechanisms leading to age-related increases in cerebrovascular pulsatility, (2) determine
whether changes in cerebrovascular pulsatility and brain tissue viscoelasticity are spatially and temporally
correlated, and (3) determine whether cerebrovascular pulsatility mediates the loss of cognitive performance
through the disruption of specific neuronal substrates important for memory performance (i.e., the hippocampus).
Ultimately, this project will identify the earliest underlying mechanisms by which vascular aging contributes to
the loss of brain tissue integrity and cognitive performance leading to new targets for interventions aimed at
preventing age-related cognitive impairment.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10812055
- **Project number:** 1R01AG080052-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE
- **Principal Investigator:** Christopher Martens
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $768,427
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-15 → 2029-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10812055

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10812055, Longitudinal impact of midlife cerebrovascular pulsatility on brain tissue integrity and cognitive aging (1R01AG080052-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10812055. Licensed CC0.

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