Spontaneous blinking and brain health: Can blink‐related oscillations capture brain changes in aging?

Abstract Type II diabetes (T2D) is associated with neurocognitive decline beyond normative aging, and thus older adults with T2D are at high risk for developing dementia. However, the extent to which similar deficits occur in prediabetic older adults is not well understood. While few studies have shown that prediabetic older adults experience some cognitive decline, further research is needed to determine the specific cognitive domains affected and the degree to which this decline occurs. Moreover, structural and functional brain changes that may occur with these deficits is currently unknown in this population. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess cognitive function and brain health in prediabetic older adults. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of older adults (aged 60-80) with prediabetes (FPG 6.1-7.0 mmol/L) and healthy aged-matched controls, examining 1) cognitive performance, 2) functional brain activation as measured by fMRI, and 3) structural measures such as volume of the hippocampus. Based on our cross-sectional analysis, prediabetic older adults show impaired cognition (e.g., memory), as well as decreased hippocampal volume and activation. Therefore, we conclude that older adults with prediabetes experience brain decline, and could benefit from lifestyle interventions to prevent or delay the onset of such decline.

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The Impact of 6 and 12 Months in Space on Human Brain Structure and Intracranial Fluid Shifts

Cerebral Cortex Communications ◽

10.1093/texcom/tgaa023 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Kathleen E Hupfeld ◽

Heather R McGregor ◽

Jessica K Lee ◽

Nichole E Beltran ◽

Igor S Kofman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Brain Structure ◽

Ventricular Volume ◽

Brain Health ◽

Reference Dataset ◽

Long Duration ◽

Fluid Shifts ◽

Mri Scans ◽

Brain Changes ◽

The Impact ◽

Insight Into

Abstract As plans develop for Mars missions, it is important to understand how long-duration spaceflight impacts brain health. Here we report how 12-month (n = 2 astronauts) versus 6-month (n = 10 astronauts) missions impact brain structure and fluid shifts. We collected MRI scans once before flight and four times after flight. Astronauts served as their own controls; we evaluated pre- to postflight changes and return toward preflight levels across the 4 postflight points. We also provide data to illustrate typical brain changes over 7 years in a reference dataset. Twelve months in space generally resulted in larger changes across multiple brain areas compared with 6-month missions and aging, particularly for fluid shifts. The majority of changes returned to preflight levels by 6 months after flight. Ventricular volume substantially increased for 1 of the 12-month astronauts (left: +25%, right: +23%) and the 6-month astronauts (left: 17 ± 12%, right: 24 ± 6%) and exhibited little recovery at 6 months. Several changes correlated with past flight experience; those with less time between subsequent missions had larger preflight ventricles and smaller ventricular volume increases with flight. This suggests that spaceflight-induced ventricular changes may endure for long periods after flight. These results provide insight into brain changes that occur with long-duration spaceflight and demonstrate the need for closer study of fluid shifts.

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O3-05-04: ASSOCIATIONS OF THE LIFESTYLE FOR BRAIN HEALTH (LIBRA) INDEX WITH STRUCTURAL BRAIN CHANGES AND COGNITION: RESULTS FROM THE MAASTRICHT STUDY

Alzheimer s & Dementia ◽

10.1016/j.jalz.2019.06.4651 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

pp. P890-P891

Author(s):

Irene Heger ◽

Kay Deckers ◽

Miranda T. Schram ◽

Coen D.A. Stehouwer ◽

Nicolaas C. Schaper ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Brain Health ◽

Brain Changes ◽

Structural Brain

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Neuroimaging Detects Early Brain Changes in HIV

Clinical Neurology News ◽

10.1016/s1553-3212(07)70110-3 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

pp. 6

Author(s):

BETSY BATES

Keyword(s):

Brain Changes

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Functional and structural neural plasticity effects of literacy acquisition in adulthood

Zeitschrift für Neuropsychologie ◽

10.1024/1016-264x/a000254 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 97-107

Author(s):

Melanie Boltzmann ◽

Thomas Münte ◽

Bahram Mohammadi ◽

Jascha Rüsseler

Keyword(s):

Neural Plasticity ◽

Adult Literacy ◽

Writing Skills ◽

Literacy Skills ◽

Written Language ◽

Learning To Read ◽

Workplace Literacy ◽

Functional Illiteracy ◽

Brain Changes ◽

Definition Of

Abstract. In Germany, 7.5 Million individuals between 18 and 64 years are considered to be functionally illiterate (Grotlüschen & Riekmann, 2012). Functional illiterates have only rudimentary literacy skills despite attending school for several years. Although they can use written language to a very limited extent, only few functional illiterates attend literacy courses for adults. In addition, most adult literacy courses primarily aim at promoting basic reading and writing skills. Offers specific to workplace literacy are scarce. This review gives an overview of the definition of functional illiteracy. Afterwards, a specific literacy program (AlphaPlus) and its effectiveness will be presented. The reviewed studies indicate that learning to read in adulthood is associated with structural and functional brain changes.

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Morphological Changes in the Brain of Acutely Ill and Weight-Recovered Patients with Anorexia Nervosa

Zeitschrift für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie ◽

10.1024/1422-4917/a000265 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 42 (1) ◽

pp. 7-18 ◽

Cited By ~ 56

Author(s):

Jochen Seitz ◽

Katharina Bühren ◽

Georg G. von Polier ◽

Nicole Heussen ◽

Beate Herpertz-Dahlmann ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Anorexia Nervosa ◽

Cognitive Deficits ◽

Time Course ◽

Morphological Changes ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Short Term ◽

Clinical Prognosis ◽

Qualitative Review ◽

Brain Changes ◽

The Brain

Objective: Acute anorexia nervosa (AN) leads to reduced gray (GM) and white matter (WM) volume in the brain, which however improves again upon restoration of weight. Yet little is known about the extent and clinical correlates of these brain changes, nor do we know much about the time-course and completeness of their recovery. Methods: We conducted a meta-analysis and a qualitative review of all magnetic resonance imaging studies involving volume analyses of the brain in both acute and recovered AN. Results: We identified structural neuroimaging studies with a total of 214 acute AN patients and 177 weight-recovered AN patients. In acute AN, GM was reduced by 5.6% and WM by 3.8% compared to healthy controls (HC). Short-term weight recovery 2–5 months after admission resulted in restitution of about half of the GM aberrations and almost full WM recovery. After 2–8 years of remission GM and WM were nearly normalized, and differences to HC (GM: –1.0%, WM: –0.7%) were no longer significant, although small residual changes could not be ruled out. In the qualitative review some studies found GM volume loss to be associated with cognitive deficits and clinical prognosis. Conclusions: GM and WM were strongly reduced in acute AN. The completeness of brain volume rehabilitation remained equivocal.

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