Results

39 publications
Psychological profiles associated with mental, cognitive and brain health in middle-aged and older adults
Nature Mental Health
The study identifies three psychological profiles associated with distinct patterns of cognitive and brain decline in ageing. The research, which analysed more than 1,000 volunteers from the BBHI and the international Medit-Ageing study, shows that the specific psychological characteristics of each profile may influence the risk of developing dementia, as well as aspects such as the speed of brain decline and sleep quality.The results show that having a ‘well-balanced’ psychological profile, with moderately high protective factors and moderately low risk factors, is associated with better cognitive and mental health in all measured indicators. On the other hand, a psychological profile with low levels of protective characteristics is associated with poorer cognition, more pronounced brain atrophy and less adherence to healthy lifestyles. Finally, a profile characterised by high levels of negative or risky psychological traits may increase the risk of cognitive decline and dementia through a psycho-affective pathway. 
  • Cognition
  • Mental health
  • Psychology
Spontaneous and perturbation-based EEG cortical excitability markers are associated with plasma p-tau181 concentration in healthy middle-aged adults
Heliyon
In this study we have investigated for the first time the relationship between cortical excitability and blood concentration of phosphorylated tau (p-tau) in healthy middle-aged adults. P-tau, along with myeloid beta, is one of the proteins directly implicated in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's. Previous research in animals and cell cultures suggests that the spread of tau pathology is driven by neuronal excitability. In this study we observed that the higher the excitability, the higher the concentration of p-tau. Furthermore, we have seen that this relationship is particularly significant in those with older age. This is important because it shows that a relationship that has been proposed as a pathological mechanism in Alzheimer's is already present in healthy subjects of older age. Therefore, this may be a candidate preclinical marker of risk for manifesting the disease. Furthermore, cortical excitability is modifiable with techniques such as non-invasive brain stimulation. Therefore, reducing excitability could be an adjunct to tau and amyloid clearance therapies. Finally, the methods used in this study are non-invasive and potentially scalable.
  • Alzheimer

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