Project Grant R21AG080198

The National Institute on Aging awarded a $433,950 Project Grant (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research) to the University of California, Davis to develop a lifespan rhesus monkey model for studying interoception, the ability to sense and process internal physiological signals. The project aims to establish a translatable animal model for interoceptive processes that deteriorate with aging, which is critical for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms and developing interventions for interoception-related diseases like Alzheimer's. The work will involve creating behavioral tasks to assess cardiac interoceptive ability in monkeys and examine how individual differences in cardiac function relate to interoceptive capabilities, with the goal of identifying functional parallels to human interoceptive processes. This novel animal model research is expected to provide key insights into the biological basis of interoception across the lifespan and inform future therapeutic approaches to promote wellbeing and address interoception-related health challenges.