Individual Behavioral Processes

Basic Biobehavioral & Psychological Sciences Branch

Branch Chief: Todd Horowitz, Ph.D.

Basic Biobehavioral and Psychological Sciences (BBPS) supports aging and AD/ADRD-relevant research on basic mechanisms of behavior change, cognitive and emotional functioning, behavior genetics and sociogenomics, family and interpersonal relationships, and integrative biobehavioral research on the mechanistic pathways linking social and behavioral factors to health and well-being in mid-life and older age.

Areas of emphasis include:

• Behavior Genetics of Aging. This emphasis includes research on: (1) genetics and genomics of social behavior and social environments; (2) understanding genetic and genomic influences linking social, psychological, and behavioral processes with health and well-being over the life course; (3) understanding the social and environmental contexts in which genetic and genomic factors are expressed and influence social, psychological, and behavioral aspects of aging, including examinations of social influences on gene expression, and genetic influences on selection of environments. Approaches of interest include: quantitative and molecular genetic analysis; epigenetic and gene expression studies; discordant twin designs, among others.
• Cognitive Aging. This emphasis includes experimental and longitudinal research on cognitive functioning, including risk and protective factors for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD). Major topics include: changes in higher-order cognitive functions (e.g., executive function, attention, memory, decision-making, language and perceptual skills) across the lifespan; the influence of contexts (behavioral, social, cultural, and technological) on cognitive functioning and dementia; how age-related changes in cognition affect activities of daily living, social relationships, and health status, and vice versa; and factors shaping individual differences in cognitive function (e.g., motivation, self-efficacy, beliefs about aging, sensory limitations, experience, and expertise). BBPS particularly encourages studies that advance methods for assessing neuropsychological and functional changes over the life course.
• Family and Interpersonal Relationships. This emphasis includes research on the development and consequences of social interactions and interpersonal relationships across the lifespan and intergenerationally. Primary topics of interest include: (1) direct and indirect effects of static and dynamic behavioral, psychological, and social processes at the individual and dyadic level; (2) the protective, beneficial, and deleterious contribution of family members, intimate partners, and friends to health and well-being; (3) causal psychological, behavioral, and interpersonal mechanisms linking social ties, relationship status, and relationship quality to health and well-being; (4) the impact of social isolation and loneliness on aging outcomes; (5) the causes and consequences of elder mistreatment; and (6) social influences on the health outcomes of different subpopulations. BBPS encourages studies to take a lifespan perspective and to pursue mechanistically focused studies with animal models, where appropriate.
• Psychological Development and Integrative Science. This emphasis includes integrative life course research on psychological aging, with a focus on biobehavioral and biosocial mechanisms or process that contribute to optimal aging outcomes and those that confer risk for accelerated aging and diseases of aging, including Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Topics include personality and socioemotional skills, emotional function, subjective well-being, stress processes, mechanisms of behavior change, decision-making, and the impact of early life adversity on aging outcomes. Research combining multiple levels of analysis and examining reciprocal interactions among these levels holds promise for delineating the basic mechanisms governing these behaviors and processes. Examples include: (1) research on the neurobiological and physiological pathways through which psychosocial stress impacts behavior and physical or psychological health; (2) social, affective, and decision neuroscience studies of socioemotional influences on behavioral and functional aging; (3) biobehavioral and psychological research on the developmental origins of health and disease; and (4) research that elucidates causal pathways underlying successful aging and resilience.

Contact the Basic Biobehavioral and Psychological Sciences Program Staff: NIABSRIBPBasic@mail.nih.gov .

Translational Behavioral and Psychological Science Branch

Acting Branch Chief: Melissa Riddle, Ph.D.

Translational Behavioral and Psychological Science (TBPS) supports research on behavioral and lifestyle interventions in both clinical and community contexts to promote the health and well-being of individuals as they age. This includes interventions to prevent dementia and maintain or improve cognitive function across the lifespan and to support individuals living with chronic illness, including AD/ADRD, and their caregivers/care partners. TBPS also supports research on applied cognition and decision-making, human factors research, and the application of technological and digital tools to monitor age-related neuropsychological and functional changes, promote healthy and adaptive aging, and improve the lives of older adults. TBPS also encourages small business applications (SBIR/STTR) addressing these topics.

The areas of emphasis include:

• Behavior Change and Behavioral Interventions. This emphasis includes research on the development of behavioral interventions to promote the health and well-being of individuals as they age. Behavioral intervention development is conceptualized as a multi-directional process, best accomplished when infused with a focus on psychological, behavioral, and interpersonal mechanisms of behavior change, with the goal of producing maximally potent and implementable interventions. The NIH Stage Model is used as the conceptual framework for this process. Major topics include all necessary Stages of research for developing effective and scalable behavioral/non-pharmacological interventions for: (1) promoting and sustaining healthy lifestyle practices; (2) preventing or delaying the onset of disease and dementia; (3) improving emotional regulation and well-being; (4) promoting better adherence to treatments (e.g., drug regimens, behavioral interventions); (5) minimizing and managing the stress and burdens of caregiving (e.g. for persons with AD/ADRD); (6) decreasing social isolation and facilitating healthy social relationships; (7) facilitating medical self-management; (8) helping individuals cope with chronic illnesses and disabilities; and (9) supporting advance care planning and helping individuals make informed end of life decisions. Interventions can be targeted at individual behavior change or leverage interpersonal and group dynamics and contexts to promote individual change.
• Applied Cognition, Human Factors, and Digital Health and Technological Solutions. This emphasis includes translational and applied research on age-related neuropsychological and functional changes, including risk and protective factors for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD) over the life course. Studies that develop strategies for monitoring and improving everyday functioning and preventing dementia and cognitive decline through cognitive interventions and development of new technologies are particularly encouraged. Major topics include the development of tools, technologies, and interventions to monitor and support (1) higher-order cognitive processes and everyday functions (memory, executive function, reading and speech comprehension, consumer behavior, driving, spatial navigation); (2) health literacy, medical decision-making, and advance care planning, including shared decision making involving family and social network members, care partners, and clinicians; (3) aging in place, with attention to contextual influences on cognition and behavior.

The Edward R. Roybal Centers for Translational Research in the Behavioral and Social Sciences of Aging are managed out of the Translational Behavioral and Psychological Science (TBPS) branch. The Roybal Centers support behavioral and non-pharmacological intervention development within the scientific scope of IBP and PSP . The purpose of the Roybal Centers program is to translate and integrate basic behavioral and social research findings into interventions that improve the lives of older people and increase institutional capacity to adapt to societal aging. Roybal Centers are structured within the conceptual framework of the multidirectional, translational NIH Stage Model , which fosters the integration of basic science within the behavioral intervention development process, with the goal of creating potent and implementable interventions that are defined by their principles.

Contact the Translational Behavioral and Psychological Science Program Staff: NIABSRIBPTranslational@mail.nih.gov .

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