Mechanisms of Healthy Aging: An Integrated Neurobiological Perspective on Mood and Cognitive Function

Abstract

Neurobiological approaches to healthy aging can protect against declines in cognitive function and mood disturbances in older adults. This symposium will focus on health-based mechanisms associated with mood and cognition in late life using an integrated micro- and macro-level perspective. Mechanistic pathways and predictors of healthy aging will be discussed across multiple levels of analysis (genetic, molecular, systems-level neurocircuitry, and behavioral). We will discuss these mechanisms of aging and late-life depression cross-sectionally and in the context of non-pharmacological interventions to identify potential pathways for more personalized treatments.This symposium will take a unique approach to classifying the neurobiology of healthy aging. Dr. Swathi Gujral will present a large study of 108 community-dwelling older adults who completed an exercise intervention and discuss differences in stress and emotional health as a function of exercise condition and APOE e4 carrier status. Dr. Julie Dumas will discuss functioning of the nicotinic cholinergic system in older adults and will present effects of nicotinic stimulation and blockade on brain activation and working memory performance in older adults with and without subjective cognitive decline. Dr. Lauren Oberlin will present neuroimaging features of small vessel disease (SVD) in older adults with and without depression and discuss the association between white matter abnormalities and cognitive decline in late life. Dr. Lindsay Victoria will present neural correlates of negative cognitive bias in late-life depression and their impact on treatment response to psychotherapy in depressed older adults.The unifying goal of these presentations is to characterize mechanistic pathways to precisely target cognitive deficits, improve mood, and promote healthy aging. With an emphasis on individual differences, we will examine predictors of change across a range of domains impacted in aging and late-life depression, including stress, working memory, and executive function. This mechanistic approach has important implications for the development of personalized interventions that emphasize health-based approaches to mood and cognitive function in older adults.