Raising children appears to keep the brain young, potentially acting as a buffer against cognitive decline and Alzheimer's in both mothers and fathers. #parentingscience #brainhealth #cognitiveaging
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Excited to announce a new publication focused on sex differences in hippocampal subfield age-related changes! Thanks especially to Drs Giorgia Picci and Tony Wilson for all their help. 💖
#CognitiveAging #MRI #Hippocampus #Psychology #Neuroscience
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11357-026-02371-z
Hippocampal volume is associated with memory and is critical in Alzheimer’s disease, but few studies have examined hippocampal subfield volume changes during healthy aging. Herein, we utilize submillimeter MRI to examine age- and sex-specific subfield volumetric changes in 206 participants (Mage = 53.05 years, range = 21–87, Nfemale = 110). Total intracranial volume was regressed out and hierarchical regression was performed to examine subfield volume changes with age. To identify inflection points per subfield, piecewise regression was used with bootstrapped confidence intervals to distinguish whether these significantly differed by subfield and sex after multiple comparisons correction. Partial correlations controlling for age were performed to identify relationships between subfield volume and cognitive domains. We identified significant quadratic relationships for all subfields (qs < .05). Volumetric inflection points did not differ by subfield, but significantly differed by sex, such that age-related CA1 and CA4-DG volume decline began later for males than for females (CA1: 1 year; CA4-DG: 5 years), whereas the opposite was observed in the subiculum and presubiculum (subiculum: 6 years; presubiculum: 4 years). Further, CA4-DG volume declined more quickly in males relative to females after the inflection point. Finally, we found associations between attention and CA1 and CA4-DG volume, and between language and CA1. These findings indicate significant age and sex effects on subfield volume across the adult lifespan and subfield-specific relationships with cognitive performance. Understanding the factors that may lead to these sex-specific volumetric losses by subfield is critical given the implications for preserved cognitive function into later life. Graphical Abstract
The article discusses how stimulating the vagus nerve might protect the brain from Alzheimer’s disease by supporting the health of the locus coeruleus, a key brain region involved in alertness, memory, and norepinephrine production. It reviews how tau buildup in this area may precede Alzheimer’s symptoms and how vagus nerve stimulation could help regulate its activity to support cognitive function.
This topic is of interest to psychology readers because it connects brain networks, neurotransmitter systems, and aging to memory and thinking processes, highlighting how interventions targeting neural regulation could influence cognitive health.
Article Title: How stimulating the vagus nerve could protect the brain from Alzheimer’s disease
Link to PsyPost Article: https://www.psypost dot org/how-stimulating-the-vagus-nerve-could-protect-the-brain-from-alzheimers-disease/
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#vagusnerve #alzheimers #locus coeruleus #neuroregulation #cognitiveaging
The article discusses a study suggesting that higher meat intake may slow cognitive decline in older adults who carry specific APOE gene variants associated with higher Alzheimer’s risk, with strongest effects seen in unprocessed meat and among those in the top meat-consumption bracket. It also notes limitations such as the observational design and the population being predominantly Northern European.
This topic is of interest to psychology enthusiasts because it highlights the interplay between genetics, diet, aging, and cognitive health, illustrating how individual differences can shape brain aging trajectories and the potential for personalized approaches to cognitive well-being.
Article Title: High meat consumption may protect against cognitive decline in people with a specific Alzheimer’s gene
Link to PsyPost Article: https://www.psypost dot org/high-meat-consumption-may-protect-against-cognitive-decline-in-people-with-a-specific-alzheimers-gene/
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#APOEgenotype #MeatConsumption #CognitiveAging #PersonalizedNutrition #AlzheimersRisk
Findings illuminate how fat distribution—beyond BMI—ties to brain aging and cognitive risk, making the topic salient for mental health professionals monitoring neurocognitive health. Two patterns stand out: fat accumulation in the pancreas that can occur even when liver fat is not elevated, and “skinny fat” — excess fat relative to muscle in individuals who do not appear severely obese. This broadens risk considerations for therapists, social workers, and other mental health providers when discussing lifestyle factors and cognitive health with clients.
Article Title: The fat you can’t see could be shrinking your brain
Link to Science Daily Mind-Brain News: https://ift dot tt/osZe4tY
#BrainHealth #CognitiveAging #MetabolicHealth #FatDistribution #MRI
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A naturally occurring aging-related molecule may repair memory processes impaired by Alzheimer's by boosting communication between brain cells and restoring early-memory abilities. Since the compound is endogenous and declines with age, enhancing it could offer a safer direction for supporting brain health, a point that can inform psychoeducation and memory-focused assessment among therapists, social workers, and other mental health professionals.
Article Title: A natural aging molecule may help restore memory in Alzheimer’s
Link to Science Daily Mind-Brain News: https://ift dot tt/qi8XKu2
#AlzheimerDisease #Memory #CognitiveAging #BrainHealth #Neuroscience
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Regular aerobic exercise is associated with a biologically younger brain as seen on MRI, particularly during midlife when prevention may yield long-term benefits. For psychotherapists, social workers, therapists, and other mental health professionals, the finding highlights a nonpharmacological factor that could support cognitive resilience across aging.
Article Title: MRI scans show exercise can make the brain look younger
Link to Science Daily Mind-Brain News: https://ift dot tt/JyGPLfK
#BrainHealth
#ExerciseScience
#CognitiveAging
#MidlifeHealth
#MentalWellness
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Aging Reversed by Vitamins? - Rhonda Patrick on Tim Ferriss
Predictors of longitudinal cognitive ageing from age 70 to 82 including #APOEe4 status, early-life and #lifestyle factors: the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936
APOE4 status explains the majority of variance in cognitive aging (but not much in a verbal domain) when early-life and lifestyle factors are included in the same model.
(Open Access)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-022-01900-4
Discovering why some people’s cognitive abilities decline more than others is a key challenge for cognitive ageing research. The most effective strategy may be to address multiple risk factors from across the life-course simultaneously in relation to robust longitudinal cognitive data. We conducted a 12-year follow-up of 1091 (at age 70) men and women from the longitudinal Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 study. Comprehensive repeated cognitive measures of visuospatial ability, processing speed, memory, verbal ability, and a general cognitive factor were collected over five assessments (age 70, 73, 76, 79, and 82 years) and analysed using multivariate latent growth curve modelling. Fifteen life-course variables were used to predict variation in cognitive ability levels at age 70 and cognitive slopes from age 70 to 82. Only APOE e4 carrier status was found to be reliably informative of general- and domain-specific cognitive decline, despite there being many life-course correlates of cognitive level at age 70. APOE e4 carriers had significantly steeper slopes across all three fluid cognitive domains compared with non-carriers, especially for memory (β = −0.234, p < 0.001) and general cognitive function (β = −0.246, p < 0.001), denoting a widening gap in cognitive functioning with increasing age. Our findings suggest that when many other candidate predictors of cognitive ageing slope are entered en masse, their unique contributions account for relatively small proportions of variance, beyond variation in APOE e4 status. We conclude that APOE e4 status is important for identifying those at greater risk for accelerated cognitive ageing, even among ostensibly healthy individuals.
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Megan Hall
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