# Executive contributions to the “double jeopardy” of depressive symptoms and age on episodic memory in racially diverse adults

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · 2024 · $791,719

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Emerging evidence suggests that age and depression, even the modest levels common in aging, may interact to
produce a “double jeopardy” for episodic memory impairment and may predict cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s
disease (AD). The underlying cause/s of this double jeopardy is unknown. Even less is known about depression-
related memory impairments in Black/African American and Mexican Americans, despite evidence of more
disabling depression, and AD prevalence than in non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs). Multiple race-related proxy
factors (e.g., discrimination, vascular burden, religiosity) that may exacerbate or reduce depression-related
memory impairments but they have seldom been explored. Executive dysfunction may be an important
contributor to depression-related episodic memory impairments but studies of depression-related memory and
executive functioning impairments have been conducted in parallel. We propose a new conceptual framework in
which depression-related executive and associated PFC dysfunction underlie depression-related memory
impairments, double jeopardy effects, and ethnoracial disparities in these impairments. We will enroll 330 adults
from Black, Mexican, and NHW groups across the adult lifespan. Consistent with an RDoC framework, we will
assess depression along a continuum and examine depressive symptom dimensions (i.e., somatic, depressed
mood, etc.), and consider age of onset and chronicity that may differ by age and race/ethnicity. We will use a
combination of cognitive neuroscience and clinical neuropsychology approaches, innovative memory tasks
manipulating executive functions, univariate, multivariate, and multimodal neuroimaging, and longitudinal
clinical and cognitive assessments to identify the neural mechanisms underlying depression-related memory
impairments. With 2 fMRI experiments that use different approaches to manipulate demands on executive
functioning (Aim 1: inhibition of mnemonic interference and Aim 2: spontaneous and instructed emotion
regulation), we bridge across diverse literatures with our unifying executive dysfunction framework. In Aim 3,
we test racial/ethnic group differences in depression-related memory alterations, neural mechanisms underlying
them, and psychosocial factors that may influence group differences. In exploratory Aim 4, we use cutting-edge
analyses to explore multi-modal neuroimaging markers of depression-related memory impairment and decline in
older adults. Should the neural mechanisms by which depression negatively impacts memory depend upon age,
race/ethnicity and related psychosocial factors, it would suggest a need to update and advance current theories of
depression-related cognitive impairment to incorporate the influence of these factors. These results may reveal
who may be most sensitive to the negative cognitive effects of depression and identifying reasons why, informing
future, personalized brain stimulation or lifestyle interventions, tailored to ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10905791
- **Project number:** 1R01AG084235-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
- **Principal Investigator:** Vonetta M Dotson
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $791,719
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-06-01 → 2029-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10905791

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10905791, Executive contributions to the “double jeopardy” of depressive symptoms and age on episodic memory in racially diverse adults (1R01AG084235-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10905791. Licensed CC0.

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