Online Interplay Between Deciding and Acting With Mild Cognitive Impairment

Description

Mild cognitive impairment leads not only to impaired decision making, but also movement deficits that predict the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Recent behavioral work has suggested a common mechanism that throttles the speed of both decisions and reaching movements, which is supported by converging neural evidence that finds an interac-tion between decision making and movement (motor) circuits. Yet it remains unknown how the interplay between decision making and motor neural circuits becomes impaired and impedes rapid responses for those with mild cognitive impairment. Here the investigators test the central hypothesis that there is an impaired interaction between decision making and motor neural circuits with mild cognitive impairment.

First, the investigators will use human reaching experiments to establish that mild cognitive impairment disrupts the interplay of decision making and motor control. Second, the investigators will use Magnetic resonance elastography to elucidate whether brain stiffness in decision making and motor brain regions are related to altered movement behavior. The expected outcome is a mechanistic understanding of how impaired decision making and motor neural circuits impact movement for those with mild cognitive impairment.