Vision and touch coordination as an early sign of Alzheimer's
Visual-somatosensory integration as a novel marker of Alzheimer's disease
Looks at whether how older adults combine visual and touch signals can point to early Alzheimer's and relate to attention, balance, and walking.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | State University New York Stony Brook NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Stony Brook, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11307579 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would join a group of about 208 community-dwelling older adults with and without early Alzheimer’s changes. Researchers will measure how well you combine visual and touch information, give tests of attention, balance, and gait, and record mobility outcomes like falls. They will also map the brain networks linked to these sensory and motor changes to see how they relate to Alzheimer’s pathology. The goal is to find non-invasive sensory markers that show problems before big memory symptoms appear.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are community-dwelling older adults, including those with preclinical or early Alzheimer-related changes and those without such changes for comparison.
Not a fit: People with advanced or late-stage dementia are unlikely to benefit because the project focuses on early, preclinical changes.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help identify people at risk earlier and guide interventions to reduce problems like falls and mobility decline.
How similar studies have performed: Previous work has linked multisensory integration to attention and mobility, but using visual–somatosensory integration as an early Alzheimer’s marker and mapping its brain networks is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
Stony Brook, United States
- State University New York Stony Brook — Stony Brook, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Mahoney, Jeannette R. — State University New York Stony Brook
- Study coordinator: Mahoney, Jeannette R.
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 below.