Age-related changes in time-space interferences and their relation to dysfuntions of the medial temporal lobe

• Applicant: Dr. Martin Riemer
• Subject Area: Biological Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience ; General, Cognitive and Mathematical Psychology
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 452179073

The representations of time and space are inherently linked and a mutual interference between these two dimensions has been demonstrated in infants, children and adults. The proposed project represents the first investigation of time-space interferences in advanced age (>65 years). This endeavor is important, because the neuronal systems underlying temporal and spatial processing are located in the medial temporal lobe (MTL), a brain region that is known to be extremely sensitive to the process of aging. It shows increased neuronal atrophy during healthy aging and exhibits the earliest signs of pathology in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. As the drastic changes detectable by structural or metabolic neuroimaging are often preceded by subtle behavioral changes, the study of time-space interferences in older adults is a promising approach to differentiate between normal and pathological age-related deficits in an early stage.The research outlined in this proposal aims to answer two key questions. First, are time-space interferences increased in the elderly? And second, are these age-related changes associated with MTL dysfunctions? We will approach these questions using advanced virtual reality (VR) techniques, testing young and old healthy adults, as well as patients with circumscribed MTL lesions.If successful, this project could be a crucial first step towards establishing novel behavioral markers for an early detection of pathological cognitive decline, which could support clinical assessment, monitoring of disease progression and the evaluation of intervention strategies.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants