National Institute on Aging (NIA).

The NIA's mission is to improve the health and well-being of older Americans through research. The NIA is interested in a developmental life-course perspective of aging and mind-body effects on acute and chronic health, quality of life, functional capacity, and life expectancy/mortality. Research linking cognitive, affective, and/or perceived events (past, present, or ongoing) to maintenance of health, function, and quality of life in older adults is desired. How diseases common in late life (e.g., hypertension, type. 2 diabetes mellitus, osteoarthritis, Alzheimer disease) are modulated by the interactions of physiological and neurological mechanisms with cognitive, affective, perceptual, and social factors experienced by the older individual is of high interest. Research on how mind-body processes affect health disparities is especially encouraged, as is multilevel, multisystem, and interdisciplinary research. Illustrative examples include mind-body effects on longevity; early life experiences mediated via mind-body interactions and their effects on late-life health; the pathways and mechanisms through which mind-body interactions modulate behavior and cognitive function in older individuals; the modulatory effects of age upon mind-body processes, especially in relation to stress and cognitive processes; mind-body effects that are predictive of adherence to and benefit from an intervention; the cumulative effects of stress on the health of the elderly; the impact of optimism, happiness, or a positive attitude on well-being and health; the cognitive impact of social exclusion and disruptions to social functioning on health; the percepts and affective responses to one's socioeconomic and occupational environment and their effects on health; and the cumulative impact of extreme stress on health in low-resource/low-income and in-transition countries.