scholarly journals Latinx brain health disparities in cognitive aging: The role of acculturation on brain integrity and cognition among older HIV+ adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (S6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Rivera Mindt ◽  
Micah J. Savin ◽  
Emily P. Morris ◽  
Angela Summers ◽  
Maral N. Aghvinian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Disparities ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Brain Health

scholarly journals Engineering Solutions to COVID-19 and Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilda A. Barabino
Keyword(s):  
Health Disparities ◽  
Black Community ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Structural Racism ◽  
Communities Of Color ◽  
Collective Response ◽  
Design Skills

AbstractThe role of engineers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and in the elimination of health disparities, while not always visible, has important implications for the attainment of impactful solutions. The design skills, systems approach, and innovative mindset that engineers bring all have the potential to combat crises in novel and impactful ways. When a disparities lens is applied, a lens that views gaps in access, resources, and care, the engineering solutions are bound to be more robust and equitable. The disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on the Black community and other communities of color is linked to inequities in health rooted in a centuries long structural racism. Engineers working collaboratively with physicians and healthcare providers are poised to close equity gaps and strengthen the collective response to COVID-19 and future pandemics.

scholarly journals Strategies and cognitive reserve to preserve lexical production in aging

GeroScience ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Baciu ◽  
Sonja Banjac ◽  
Elise Roger ◽  
Célise Haldin ◽  
Marcela Perrone-Bertolotti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Aging Effects ◽  
Main Hypothesis ◽  
Compensatory Strategies ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Complementary Domain

AbstractIn the absence of any neuropsychiatric condition, older adults may show declining performance in several cognitive processes and among them, in retrieving and producing words, reflected in slower responses and even reduced accuracy compared to younger adults. To overcome this difficulty, healthy older adults implement compensatory strategies, which are the focus of this paper. We provide a review of mainstream findings on deficient mechanisms and possible neurocognitive strategies used by older adults to overcome the deleterious effects of age on lexical production. Moreover, we present findings on genetic and lifestyle factors that might either be protective or risk factors of cognitive impairment in advanced age. We propose that “aging-modulating factors” (AMF) can be modified, offering prevention opportunities against aging effects. Based on our review and this proposition, we introduce an integrative neurocognitive model of mechanisms and compensatory strategies for lexical production in older adults (entitled Lexical Access and Retrieval in Aging, LARA). The main hypothesis defended in LARA is that cognitive aging evolves heterogeneously and involves complementary domain-general and domain-specific mechanisms, with substantial inter-individual variability, reflected at behavioral, cognitive, and brain levels. Furthermore, we argue that the ability to compensate for the effect of cognitive aging depends on the amount of reserve specific to each individual which is, in turn, modulated by the AMF. Our conclusion is that a variety of mechanisms and compensatory strategies coexist in the same individual to oppose the effect of age. The role of reserve is pivotal for a successful coping with age-related changes and future research should continue to explore the modulating role of AMF.

scholarly journals Creatine Supplementation and Brain Health

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 586 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamilton Roschel ◽  
Bruno Gualano ◽  
Sergej M. Ostojic ◽  
Eric S. Rawson
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Brain Function ◽  
Creatine Supplementation ◽  
Short Review ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Brain Health

There is a robust and compelling body of evidence supporting the ergogenic and therapeutic role of creatine supplementation in muscle. Beyond these well-described effects and mechanisms, there is literature to suggest that creatine may also be beneficial to brain health (e.g., cognitive processing, brain function, and recovery from trauma). This is a growing field of research, and the purpose of this short review is to provide an update on the effects of creatine supplementation on brain health in humans. There is a potential for creatine supplementation to improve cognitive processing, especially in conditions characterized by brain creatine deficits, which could be induced by acute stressors (e.g., exercise, sleep deprivation) or chronic, pathologic conditions (e.g., creatine synthesis enzyme deficiencies, mild traumatic brain injury, aging, Alzheimer’s disease, depression). Despite this, the optimal creatine protocol able to increase brain creatine levels is still to be determined. Similarly, supplementation studies concomitantly assessing brain creatine and cognitive function are needed. Collectively, data available are promising and future research in the area is warranted.

scholarly journals Bottoms up: the role of gut microbiota in brain health

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 3197-3211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Radisavljevic ◽  
Mihai Cirstea ◽  
Barton Brett Finlay
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Brain Health

scholarly journals Motivation as a Mediator of the Relation Between Cognitive Reserve and Cognitive Performance

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 1199-1205
Author(s):  
Fanny Vallet ◽  
Nathalie Mella ◽  
Andreas Ihle ◽  
Marine Beaudoin ◽  
Delphine Fagot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intrinsic Motivation ◽  
Life Span ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Cognitive Reserve ◽  
Leisure Activities ◽  
Global Measure ◽  
Interindividual Differences

Abstract Objectives Interindividual differences in cognitive aging may be explained by differences in cognitive reserve (CR) that are built up across the life span. A plausible but underresearched mechanism for these differences is that CR helps compensating cognitive decline by enhancing motivation to cope with challenging cognitive situations. Theories of motivation on cognition suggest that perceived capacity and intrinsic motivation may be key mediators in this respect. Method In 506 older adults, we assessed CR proxies (education, occupation, leisure activities), motivation (perceived capacity, intrinsic motivation), and a global measure of cognitive functioning. Results Perceived capacity, but not intrinsic motivation, significantly mediated the relation between CR and cognitive performance. Discussion Complementary with neurobiological and cognitive processes, our results suggest a more comprehensive view of the role of motivational aspects built up across the life span in determining differences in cognitive performance in old age.

scholarly journals The effect of test anxiety on Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE): examining the role of age and basic biomarkers related to cognitive aging

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 216
Author(s):  
Κρυσταλλένια Διμηνίδου ◽  
Δέσποινα Mωραΐτου ◽  
Γεωργία Παπαντωνίου
Keyword(s):  
Test Anxiety ◽  
Mental State ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Mini Mental State Examination ◽  
State Examination

Η παρούσα έρευνα αποσκοπούσε να εξετάσει την άμεση επίδραση του άγχους εξέτασης στη Δοκιμασία Σύντομης Γνωστικής Εκτίμησης (ΔΣΓΕ, MMSE Mini Mental State Examination), καθώς και την τυχόν έμμεση επίδραση της ηλικίας και βασικών βιοδεικτών που συνδέονται με το γνωστικό γήρας στη ΔΣΓΕ, μέσω του άγχους εξέτασης. Στην έρευνα συμμετείχαν 60 άτομα και των δύο φύλων, ηλικίας άνω των 55 ετών. Οι συμμετέχοντες κλήθηκαν να απαντήσουν αρχικά σε μια σειρά ερωτήσεων που αφορούσαν τα ατομικάδημογραφικά τους χαρακτηριστικά καθώς και το αν έχουν διαγνωστεί ή μη ως υπερτασικοί, υπερχοληστεριναιμικοί ή/και διαβητικοί. Στη συνέχεια, τους ζητήθηκε να απαντήσουν σε ερωτηματολόγιο σχετικό με το άγχος που γενικά νιώθουν πριν, κατά τη διάρκεια και μετά από μια εξέταση των γνωστικών τους ικανοτήτων. Οι γνωστικές τους ικανότητες εξετάστηκαν μέσω της ΔΣΓΕ. Η στατιστική ανάλυση των δεδομένων που συγκεντρώθηκαν, έδειξε ότι το άγχος εξέτασης επιδρά στην επίδοση στη ΔΣΓΕ. Ειδικότερα, βρέθηκε ότι από τις δύο βασικές διαστάσεις του άγχους εξέτασης μόνον η συναισθηματικότητα επιδρά άμεσα κι αρνητικά στην επίδοση στη ΔΣΓΕ, ενώ η ανησυχία όχι. Η ηλικία και ο βιοδείκτης «διαβήτης» φάνηκε ότι επιδρούν επίσης αρνητικά στην επίδοση στη ΔΣΓΕ. <br />στόσο η επίδρασή τους είναι μόνον άμεση και όχι έμμεση, μέσω του άγχους εξέτασης. Μάλιστα, ο διαβήτης επιδρά άμεσα τόσο στη ΔΣΓΕ όσο και στη συναισθηματικότητα, εξαλείφοντας την επίδραση της συναισθηματικότητας στη ΔΣΓΕ.

scholarly journals Regulation of the cognitive aging process by the transcriptional repressor RP58

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomoko Tanaka ◽  
Shinobu Hirai ◽  
Hiroyuki Manabe ◽  
Kentaro Endo ◽  
Hiroko Shimbo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Damage ◽  
Dna Repair ◽  
Knockout Mice ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Harmful Effect ◽  
Transcriptional Repressor ◽  
Repair Pathway ◽  
Wild Type

Aging involves a decline in physiology which is a natural event in all living organisms. An accumulation of DNA damage contributes to the progression of aging. DNA is continually damaged by exogenous sources and endogenous sources. If the DNA repair pathway operates normally, DNA damage is not life threatening. However, impairments of the DNA repair pathway may result in an accumulation of DNA damage, which has a harmful effect on health and causes an onset of pathology. RP58, a zinc-finger transcriptional repressor, plays a critical role in cerebral cortex formation. Recently, it has been reported that the expression level of RP58 decreases in the aged human cortex. Furthermore, the role of RP58 in DNA damage is inferred by the involvement of DNMT3, which acts as a co-repressor for RP58, in DNA damage. Therefore, RP58 may play a crucial role in the DNA damage associated with aging. In the present study, we investigated the role of RP58 in aging. We used RP58 hetero-knockout and wild-type mice in adolescence, adulthood, or old age. We performed immunohistochemistry to determine whether microglia and DNA damage markers responded to the decline in RP58 levels. Furthermore, we performed an object location test to measure cognitive function, which decline with age. We found that the wild-type mice showed an increase in single-stranded DNA and gamma-H2AX foci. These results indicate an increase in DNA damage or dysfunction of DNA repair mechanisms in the hippocampus as age-related changes. Furthermore, we found that, with advancing age, both the wild-type and hetero-knockout mice showed an impairment of spatial memory for the object and increase in reactive microglia in the hippocampus. However, the RP58 hetero-knockout mice showed these symptoms earlier than the wild-type mice did. These results suggest that a decline in RP58 level may lead to the progression of aging.

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