How thinking and perception — especially hearing — change together as people age
Official title: Testing mechanisms for relations between high-level cognition and perception in normal aging
Funded at University of Texas San Antonio · NIH-11251762 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at attention, effort, and hearing in adults to understand why hearing and thinking skills become more connected as we get older.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Texas San Antonio NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Antonio, United States) |
| Project start | January 1, 2025 |
| Project end | December 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $384,909 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AG086310-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11251762 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults aged 21 and older — especially middle-aged and older adults and those with hearing changes or concerns about attention or memory — are the best candidates to participate.
✕Less likely to help
People seeking immediate treatments for hearing loss or dementia should not expect direct clinical benefit because this is a mechanistic research project rather than a therapy trial.
What this research studies
You would complete hearing tests plus checks of vision and smell, and take part in listening and attention tasks while researchers record brain activity with EEG. The team will also measure physiological signs of effort during tasks and use statistical modeling to see how perception and higher-level thinking relate across adulthood. They compare whether weakening attention control with age or long-term hearing problems that change the brain best explain the link between perception and cognition. Testing adults across a range of ages helps show how these relationships grow during normal aging.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If confirmed, the findings could clarify why hearing loss raises dementia risk and help improve hearing tests and strategies to protect thinking as people age.
How similar studies have gone: Prior research has shown links between sensory and cognitive abilities in aging, but combining EEG, effort measures, and modeling to test these specific mechanisms is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Texas San Antonio
San Antonio, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Golob, Edward J — University of Texas San Antonio
- Study coordinator: Golob, Edward J
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.