basic science investigators at UF's mcknight brain institute are simultaneously studying cognitive aging in animal models. Back to basics As the ACT study gets underway in humans following encouraging pilot research funded by the McKnight Brain Research Foundation, basic-science investigators at UF’s McKnight Brain Institute are studying cognitive aging in animal models. Across the spectrum from rodents to humans, these neuroscientists are testing parallel tasks; for example, the ability to discriminate between similar stimuli or the ability to walk and carry out a cognitive task simultaneously. “That gives us a bridge to translation, and at the same time, we can test very mechanistic questions in our animal models that are directly related to what humans are doing,” says Sara Burke, PhD, an assistant professor of neuroscience in the UF College of Medicine. Her team is also studying whether lifestyle interventions such as diet changes could help improve functioning of brain networks. Given that glucose dysfunction is common in seniors, Burke is testing a ketogenic diet that is low in carbohydrates and high in fat in a rat model. “When you look at aging, you’re talking two things: genes and environment,” says Tom Foster, PhD, a professor of neuroscience and the Evelyn F. McKnight chair for research on cognitive aging and A new $3 million 3T MRI scanner was installed at the McKnight Brain Institute in December, providing UF investigators with some of the strongest gradients available for human imaging. This powerful new scanner will yield images that reveal second-to-second changes in brain activation patterns. memory. “Exposure to toxins, your diet, the amount of exercise you get, your social interactions — these are all environmental factors which will then influence the brain.” And while study of the aging brain has been undertaken in various forms for decades — researchers have been testing cognitive training in older adults since the 1970s — they now have unprecedented tools at their disposal: highly advanced neuroimaging scanners that for the first time can show second-to-second changes in brain activation patterns. With a new state-of-the-art Siemens 3T MRI/S scanner installed at the McKnight Brain Institute in December, participants in the ACT trial will undergo scans to reflect evidence of neural plasticity, or changes to the brain. “The ability to combine modern neuroimaging with a cognitive training study so that we can understand at a brain level what’s going on — that’s a huge advance,” says Marsiske, and one that could potentially affect untold numbers of seniors. Woods envisions a day when, with clinician oversight, seniors might be able to use a tDCS-cognitive training program in the comfort of their own homes. There, they could strengthen their brains for a safer and more satisfying present. PHOTO BY JESSE S. JONES 10 | F LO R I DA P HYS I C IAN
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