Selective vulnerabilities and biomarkers in neurocognitive aging

Abstract

As the world’s population continues to age, an understanding of the aging brain becomes increasingly crucial. This review focuses on several recent ideas and findings in the study of neurocognitive aging, specifically focusing on episodic memory, and discusses how they can be considered and used to guide us moving forward. Topics include dysfunction in neural circuits, the roles of neurogenesis and inhibitory signaling, vulnerability in the entorhinal cortex, individual differences, and comorbidities. These avenues of study provide a brief overview of promising themes in the field and together provide a snapshot of what we believe will be important emerging topics in selective vulnerabilities in the aging brain.

Predicting age from cortical structure across the lifespan

“…In the present study we sought to examine (1) the relative sensitivity of different cortical measures to age-related differences across the adult lifespan, (2) the granularity of these differences across different cortical parcellation approaches, and (3) how well these different measures and parcellations can be used to predict age in independent samples. These findings should further our understanding of the neurobiological basis of healthy aging (Falk et al, 2013; Reagh & Yassa, 2017).…”

Functional Imbalance of Anterolateral Entorhinal Cortex and Hippocampal Dentate/CA3 Underlies Age-Related Object Pattern Separation Deficits

“…The lack of alEC structural thinning in this sample of older adults would argue against these effects being driven by neurodegenerative loss. Importantly, it has been widely hypothesized that functional disruption of MTL circuits precedes structural degradation by a considerable amount of time (Jack et al, 2010; Jagust, 2013; Reagh and Yassa, 2017). Indeed, typical age-related memory decline is not in itself associated with significant loss of cells in the MTL (Burke and Barnes, 2006).…”

Shared Functions of Perirhinal and Parahippocampal Cortices: Implications for Cognitive Aging

“…In rodents, two primary subdivisions of entorhinal cortex (EC) have been identified: the LEC and MEC. The differences in connectivity [7], neurophysiological [15] and functional dissociations [87, 88], as well as vulnerability in aging [89, 90] and disease [91] between these areas have important implications for translational human research. Therefore, identification of homologous divisions of the EC in primates is crucial.…”