Neural Protein Synthesis during Aging: Effects on Plasticity and Memory

During aging, many experience a decline in cognitive function that includes memory loss. The encoding of long-term memories depends on new protein synthesis, and this is also reduced during aging. Thus, it is possible that changes in the regulation of protein synthesis contribute to the memory impairments observed in older animals. Several lines of evidence support this hypothesis. For instance, protein synthesis is required for a longer period following learning to establish long-term memory in aged rodents. Also, under some conditions, synaptic activity or pharmacological activation can induce de novo protein synthesis and lasting changes in synaptic transmission in aged, but not young, rodents; the opposite results can be observed in other conditions. These changes in plasticity likely play a role in manifesting the altered place field properties observed in awake and behaving aged rats. The collective evidence suggests a link between memory loss and the regulation of protein synthesis in senescence. In fact, pharmaceuticals that target the signaling pathways required for induction of protein synthesis have improved memory, synaptic plasticity, and place cell properties in aged animals. We suggest that a better understanding of the mechanisms that lead to different protein expression patterns in the neural circuits that change as a function of age will enable the development of more effective therapeutic treatments for memory loss

Secrets of aging: What does a normally aging brain look like?

Over the past half century, remarkable progress has been made in understanding the biological basis of memory and how it changes over the lifespan. An important conceptual advance during this period was the realization that normative cognitive trajectories can exist independently of dementing illness. In fact, mammals as different as rats and monkeys, who do not spontaneously develop Alzheimer’s disease, show memory impairments at advanced ages in similar domains as those observed in older humans. Thus, animal models have been particularly helpful in revealing brain mechanisms responsible for the cognitive changes that occur in aging. During these past decades, a number of empirical and technical advances enabled the discoveries that began to link age-related changes in brain function to behavior. The pace of innovation continues to accelerate today, resulting in an expanded window through which the secrets of the aging brain are being deciphered

Community environment, cognitive impairment and dementia in later life: results from the Cognitive Function and Ageing Study

Background: Few studies have investigated the impact of the community environment, as distinct from area deprivation, on cognition in later life. This study explores cross-sectional associations between cognitive impairment and dementia and environmental features at the community level in older people. Method: The postcodes of the 2424 participants in the year-10 interview of the Cognitive Function and Ageing Study in England were mapped into small area level geographical units (Lower-layer Super Output Areas) and linked to environmental data in government statistics. Multilevel logistic regression was conducted to investigate associations between cognitive impairment (defined as MMSE3 in GMS-AGECAT) and community level measurements including area deprivation, natural environment, land use mix and crime. Sensitivity analyses tested the impact of people moving residence within the last two years. Results: Higher levels of area deprivation and crime were not significantly associated with cognitive impairment and dementia after accounting for individual level factors. Living in areas with high land use mix was significantly associated with a nearly 60% reduced odds of dementia (OR: 0.4; 95% CI: 0.2, 0.8) after adjusting for individual level factors and area deprivation, but there was no linear trend for cognitive impairment. Increased odds of dementia (OR: 2.2, 95% CI: 1.2, 4.2) and cognitive impairment (OR: 1.4, 95% CI: 1.0, 2.0) were found in the highest quartile of natural environment availability. Findings were robust to exclusion of the recently relocated. Conclusion: Features of land use have complex associations with cognitive impairment and dementia. Further investigations should focus on environmental influences on cognition to inform health and social policies

An Alternative to Dye-Based Approaches to Remove Background Autofluorescence From Primate Brain Tissue

Brain tissue contains autofluorescing elements that potentially impede accurate identification of neurons when visualized with fluorescent microscopy. Age-related accumulation of molecules with autofluorescent properties, such as lipofuscin, can possess spectral profiles that invade the typical emission range of fluorophores commonly utilized in fluorescent microscopy. The traditional method for accounting for this native fluorescence is to apply lipophilic dyes that are able to sequester these unwanted signals. While effective, such dyes can present a range of problems including the obstruction of fluorescent probe emissions. The present study utilizes aged primate midbrain tissue stained for tyrosine hydroxylase and calbindin to investigate an image processing approach for removing autofluorescence utilizing spectral imaging and linear unmixing. This technique is then compared against the traditional, dye-based autofluorescence sequestration method using Sudan Black B (SBB). Spectral imaging and linear unmixing yielded significantly higher cell numbers than SBB treatment. This finding suggests that computational approaches for removing autofluorescence in neural tissue are both viable and preferential to dye-based approaches for estimation of cell body numbers.NIA [R01 AG050548, P51 RR000169, F31 AG055263]; McKnight Brain Research FoundationOpen access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

American Indian/Alaskan Native College Dropout: Recommendations for Increasing Retention and Graduation

Throughout the United States, the college dropout rate among American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) students in public universities is the highest compared to any other student group. Researchers have identified this problem and offered reasons for it, but few have made specific efforts to disrupt the continued dropout rates. This article identifies and discusses three recommendations to address the dropout problem from a systems, rather than individual, perspective: (1) living and learning communities, (2) social belonging intervention, and (3) self-regulated learning activities. Studied with minority students, these endeavors show promise for retaining underrepresented students, specifically AI/AN students. To disrupt the long-term problem of dropouts among the AI/AN population, adjustments within public university systems must be part of the effort

Is late-life dependency increasing or not? A comparison of the Cognitive Function and Ageing Studies (CFAS)

Background: Little is known about how dependency levels have changed between generational cohorts of older people. We estimated years lived in different care states at age 65 in 1991 and 2011 and new projections of future demand for care. Methods: Two population-based studies of older people in defined geographical areas conducted two decades apart (the Cognitive Function and Ageing Studies) provided prevalence estimates of dependency in four states: high (24-hour care); medium (daily care); low (less than daily); independent. Years in each dependency state were calculated by Sullivan’s method. To project future demand, the proportions in each dependency state (by age group and sex) were applied to the 2014 England population projections. Findings: Between 1991 and 2011 there were significant increases in years lived from age 65 with low (men:1·7 years, 95%CI 1·0-2·4; women:2·4 years, 95%CI 1·8-3·1) and high dependency (men:0·9 years, 95%CI 0·2-1·7; women:1·3 years, 95%CI 0·5-2·1). The majority of men’s extra years of life were independent (36%) or with low dependency (36%) whilst for women the majority were spent with low dependency (58%), only 5% being independent. There were substantial reductions in the proportions with medium and high dependency who lived in care homes, although, if these dependency and care home proportions remain constant in the future, further population ageing will require an extra 71,000 care home places by 2025. Interpretation: On average older men now spend 2.4 years and women 3.0 years with substantial care needs (medium or high dependency), and most will live in the community. These findings have considerable implications for older people’s families who provide the majority of unpaid care, but the findings also supply valuable new information for governments and care providers planning the resources and funding required for the care of their future ageing populations

Relocation at older age: results from the Cognitive Function and Ageing Study.

BACKGROUND: Community environment might play an important role in supporting ageing in place. This paper aims to explore relocation at older age and its associations with individual and community level factors. METHODS: The postcodes of the 2424 people in the year-10 interview of the Cognitive Function and Ageing Study (CFAS) in England were mapped onto Enumeration Districts and linked to their corresponding Townsend deprivation score and the 2011 rural/urban categories. Multilevel logistic regression was conducted to examine the influence of the baseline individual (age, gender, education and social class) and community (rural/urban categories and area deprivation) level factors on relocation over 10 years. RESULTS: One-third of people moved residence after the age of 65 years and over. Older age, low education, low social class and living in rural areas at baseline were associated with higher probability of moving later in life. The likelihood of relocation in later life increased from least to most deprived areas (odds ratio: 2.0, 95% confidence interval: 1.4, 2.8). CONCLUSIONS: Urban/rural contexts and area deprivation are associated with relocation at older age and indicate that community environment may be relevant to ageing in place.Medical Research Council Cognitive Function and Ageing Study (MRC CFAS) was funded by the Department of health and the Medical Research Council (grant number G9901400); F.E.M. and A.M.P. are supported by the Medical Research Council (grant number U105292687 and MR/K021907/1); Y.-T.W. received a PhD scholarship from Cambridge Trust, University of Cambridge. We thank the participants, their families, general practitioners and their staff, and the primary care trusts for their cooperation and support.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Oxford University Press via http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdv05

Loneliness, social relations and health and wellbeing in deprived communities

There is growing policy concern about the extent of loneliness in advanced societies, and its prevalence among various social groups. This study looks at loneliness among people living in deprived communities, where there may be additional barriers to social engagement including low incomes, fear of crime, poor services and transient populations. The aim was to examine the prevalence of loneliness, and also its associations with different types of social contacts and forms of social support, and its links to self-reported health and wellbeing in the population group. The method involved a cross-sectional survey of 4,302 adults across 15 communities, with the data analysed using multinomial logistic regression controlling for sociodemographics, then for all other predictors within each domain of interest. Frequent feelings of loneliness were more common among those who: had contact with family monthly or less; had contact with neighbours weekly or less; rarely talked to people in the neighbourhood; and who had no available sources of practical or emotional support. Feelings of loneliness were most strongly associated with poor mental health, but were also associated with long-term problems of stress, anxiety and depression, and with low mental wellbeing, though to a lesser degree. The findings are consistent with a view that situational loneliness may be the product of residential structures and resources in deprived areas. The findings also show that neighbourly behaviours of different kinds are important for protecting against loneliness in deprived communities. Familiarity within the neighbourhood, as active acquaintance rather than merely recognition, is also important. The findings are indicative of several mechanisms that may link loneliness to health and wellbeing in our study group: loneliness itself as a stressor; lonely people not responding well to the many other stressors in deprived areas; and loneliness as the product of weak social buffering to protect against stressors

American Indian/Alaskan Native College Dropout: Recommendations for Increasing Retention and Graduation

Throughout the United States, the college dropout rate among American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) students in public universities is the highest compared to any other student group. Researchers have identified this problem and offered reasons for it, but few have made specific efforts to disrupt the continued dropout rates. This article identifies and discusses three recommendations to address the dropout problem from a systems, rather than individual, perspective: (1) living and learning communities, (2) social belonging intervention, and (3) self-regulated learning activities. Studied with minority students, these endeavors show promise for retaining underrepresented students, specifically AI/AN students. To disrupt the long-term problem of dropouts among the AI/AN population, adjustments within public university systems must be part of the effort