Columbia University has awarded Dr. Gagan Wig $688,295 for his innovative research project on CRCNS: Assessing Long-Term Impacts of Disruption to Large-Scale Brain Networks. This

project concentrates on the decline of cognitive abilities linked to alterations in brain network function and intends to deliver critical insights into how large-scale brain networks change with age. Using a mouse aging model, Dr. Wig will track changes in the organization of brain connectivity, awareness, and performance across a broad age range, from 3 to 21 months.

The long-term objective of this project is to foster an in-depth understanding of how brain network integrity deteriorates with age and how these changes are linked to cognitive decline. This project’s main aims are to: monitor changes in brain network organization, awareness, and performance over the mouse aging model lifespan, study how the specific damage to neural hubs affects these changes, and explore the strength and advantage of neural networks as animals age. By using advanced functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and graph theory approaches, Dr. Wig will assess network segregation and its connection to awareness and behavior, revealing new perspectives on aging and the brain.

Should it succeed, this study could meaningfully influence the understanding of aging and impaired cognition, making new pathways for possible treatments for age-related brain illnesses, such as dementia. It will also contribute to the field of neuroscience.