How are lifestyles associated with brain health? Identifying protective factors from ageing cohorts to develop real-world interventions for cognitive ageing.
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How are lifestyles associated with brain health? Identifying protective factors from ageing cohorts to develop real-world interventions for cognitive ageing.
Wed, 22/05/2019 - 13:30 to 14:30
Location:
Speaker:
Alan Gow
Affiliation:
Heriot-Watt University
Synopsis:
While ageing is associated with general declines in our thinking and memory skills (cognitive abilities), there is person-to-person variation in the degree of change experienced. Longitudinal studies of ageing have helped to describe the trajectories of change in cognitive abilities that might be experienced across the lifecourse and through later life, and importantly, to identify the lifestyle and behavioural determinants of those changes. The seminar will explore findings from two specific longitudinal studies: the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 and the Glostrup 1914 Cohort. Lifestyle factors proposed as cognitively-protective include physical activity, social engagement, and mentally challenging activities, though issues including sensitive periods for exposure and the potential confound of reverse causation must be considered. How findings from this observational work are being translated into real-world intervention studies will also be discussed.
Biography:
Alan joined Heriot-Watt in 2013 as a Lecturer/Assistant Professor, and is now an Associate Professor in Psychology (School of Social Sciences). He graduated with a BSc (Hons.) in Biological Sciences: Psychology from the University of Edinburgh in 2002, and completed his MSc by Research (Psychology) the following year. He completed his PhD in 2007 funded by a Royal Society of Edinburgh/Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland Studentship. He held postdoctoral positions within the Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, and has been a guest professor at the Center for Healthy Aging, University of Copenhagen. While continuing to collaborate with large longitudinal studies of ageing, Alan is developing a translational strand to his research at Heriot-Watt within The Ageing Lab (www.healthyageing.hw.ac.uk). His latest research project was initiated in 2016: The Intervention Factory is a three-year study assessing a range of activities within existing community-based programmes as potential interventions to reduce cognitive ageing. The activities vary in their mental, social and physical demands; the research will assess which type(s) of engagement provides the greatest cognitive benefits. The focus of The Ageing Lab is therefore to develop and test broad, lifestyle-based interventions where older people are provided with opportunities to engage in novel activities. Developing lifestyle interventions for healthy ageing is an important area of research, with applied value in an increasingly aged society.