Introduction: Understanding the life-course determinants of resilience to brain ageing could significantly reduce the burden of cognitive impairment and dementia on individuals, heath care providers, and societies. The focus of this work is the concept of cognitive reserve (CR), which implies that some individuals are able to remain cognitively healthy despite the accumulation of age-related neuropathology. Methods: The determinants of brain structure and function were statistically modelled using three ongoing ageing cohort studies [Aberdeen Birth Cohort of 1936 (ABC1936), Aberdeen Children of the 1950s (ACONF), The Three-City French Cohort (3C)]. First, I performed a systematic literature review to identify life-course determinants of CR. Then, I examined whether other potentially modifiable life-course factors such as birth weight, mid-life occupational profile, and late-life social relationships and technology use provided individuals with greater CR. I modelled data in STATA and SPSS/AMOS. Results: I found that the effects of low birth weight and pre-term delivery on cognitive functions persists into mid-life (ACONF). I showed that childhood intelligence at age 11 has almost twice the protective effect on cognitive ageing than mid-life occupation (ABC1936). The quantity and quality of social relationships (3C), and the aspects of technology use in latelife (ABC1936) did not provide greater CR. Conclusion: Early-life factors contribute to later-life brain health. A major implication of this work is that studies and/or programs should consider a life-course perspective (with a focus on early-life) to accurately assess and to improve the brain health of older adults.

The intent of this study was to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the well-being and subjective cognition in college students. The purpose of this study as well was to investigate if those who had tested positive for COVID-19 in the past had lower levels of subjective cognitive health and if students who were affected more during the pandemic experienced more disruptions to their wellbeing. Participants (N = 105) were recruited online via the Prolific platform and took part in an online survey administered on Qualtrics. A correlational analysis was performed to examine the effects of the pandemic, and broadly on wellbeing and subjective cognition. Results illustrated that students who endorsed more education-related COVID impacts (e.g., inability to join a club on campus) endorsed higher scores on the Perceived Stress Scale (r = 0.48, p < .001), lower scores on the PROMIS subjective cognition measure (r = -.40, p < .001), higher technostress scores on the communication overload subscale (r = .30, p = .005), and lower scores on the academic performance subscale (r = -.26, p = 0.011). This study found no significant difference in perceived stress scale scores amongst those who had and had not tested positive for COVID-19. The results highlight the need for interventions to support students' mental health and cognitive functioning during pandemics, focusing on reducing communication overload and enhancing academic performance. Furthermore, the findings may be useful in informing educational policies that prioritize student well-being during times of crisis.

In this thesis, a literature review was conducted in order to analyze the numerous sources that investigated the effects memory games may have on participants. Each study covered different scopes and methods in the field of cognitive improvement, which gave way to a variety of results used to create a comprehensive literature review. The experiments included in the literature review gathered evidence to find the effect that “brain” games had on memory and cognitive skills. An explanation and analysis were made on the brain’s deterioration as it ages and the varying amounts of plasticity it contains. The overall perspective gained from the literature review allowed for a better understanding of the results of the surveys conducted for this thesis. The distinctive ways to encourage and improve brain health were researched, and a particular focus was placed on memory games regarding brain health factors. Overall, the benefits identified covered an increase in working memory, skills, and processing speed. However, there was an indication that the improvements were only for the tasks at hand. When research was conducted on transferable activities, there was little to no proof of the transferability of measured improvements. During the research portion of the thesis, a survey was conducted that involved 90 participants from the age of 60 and older on their perception of brain games. The results of the 9-question survey showed statistically significant correlations between the amount of times individuals had played memory games and their perception of both the simplicity and effectiveness of these games. Participants who had played games more frequently viewed the games as both more effective and simpler. Similarly, participants with more education perceived the games as being simpler. The male participants in this study were found to play memory games more frequently than the women. Overall, the correlations drawn from the results of the survey promote the enriched discussion on the subject of memory games and cognitive improvement.

No

Yes / General Practitioners (GPs) play an increasingly important role in proactively preventing dementia. 40% of dementia cases could be prevented or delayed by targeting 12 modifiable risk factors throughout life. However, little is known about how GPs perceive their role in dementia prevention and associated barriers. Aims: To explore the role of GPs in dementia prevention. Design and Setting: A qualitative study among UK GPs. Method: Semi-structured online interviews with 11 UK GPs exploring their views regarding their role in dementia prevention. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: GPs reported that they never explicitly discuss dementia risk with patients, even when patients are presenting with risk factors, but acknowledge that dementia prevention should be part of their role. They advocate for adopting a whole team approach to primary care preventative practice, using long-term condition/medication reviews or NHS health checks as a platform to enable dementia risk communication targeting already at-risk individuals. Barriers included a lack of time, an absence of knowledge and education about the modifiable dementia risk factors, as well as a reluctance to use dementia as a term within the appointment for fear of causing health anxiety. Brain health was perceived as offering a more encouraging discursive tool for primary care practitioners, supporting communication and behaviour change. Conclusion: There needs to be whole systems shift towards prioritising brain health and supporting primary care professionals in their preventative role. Education is key to underpinning this role in dementia prevention. / The University of Bradford, SURE funding scheme (reference: DA512)

UBC's research community recently received a significant boost in financial support for five research hubs that will join the Centre for Brain Health as newly appointed national Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR). Two UBC economics professors were recognized with separate Bank of Canada awards: the Research Fellowship 2008 and the Governor's Award. UBC's Brain Research Centre has recevied $25 million from the Province of BC to establish a new facility focused on translational brain research.

<p> Although historically treated as separate systems, there is considerable interaction between the immune system and brain. It has become increasingly clear that immunebrain communication is important to both health and disease. An immunogenic challenge given during the first postnatal week in rodents impacts the developing central nervous system (CNS) leading to long-term behavioural and molecular alterations reflective of enhanced stress-reactivity. Anxiety and depression are stress-related pathologies with a proposed neurodevelopmental origin suggesting that perturbation to neonatal immunebrain signalling may contribute to psychopathology. The current body of work examined the long-term impact of an early immune challenge on behavioural and molecular phenotypes associated with anxiety and depression. Mice were administered lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on postnatal days three and five. The emergence of anxietyrelated behaviour was characterized along the developmental trajectory of LPS-mice concurrent with changes to serotonergic neurocircuitry. Adult depressive-related behaviour was assessed in the forced swim test (FST) along with hippocampal neurogenesis as revealed by immunoreactivity for bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) and doublecortin (DCX). The results demonstrated a sex-specific alteration in both the temporal emergence and phenotypic variant of anxiety-related behaviours displayed by LPS-mice. This was accompanied by changes to CNS serotonergic-related gene expression that coincided with a critical developmental time window essential to the establishment of emotionality. Adult LPS-mice exhibited hyperactivity during the FST that was accompanied by increased doublecortin immunoreactivity in the dorsal and ventral hippocampus, reflecting enhanced immature neuronal differentiation. The current results demonstrate that an early immune challenge impacts the developing CNS leading to enhanced emotional-reactivity. Altered serotonergic neurocircuitry and adult hippocampal neurogenesis may underlie behavioural abnormalities. The current body of work demonstrates a preeminent role for early-life immune disturbance in psychopathology and advances understanding of how immune-brain signalling impacts the developing CNS and confers risk for later disease. </p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The overall objective of this dissertation was to examine exposures to the estrogenic endocrine disrupting chemicals (EEDCs), phthalates, bisphenol-A (BPA), and the metalloestrogens cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), and manganese (Mn) in an older geriatric aged-population and examine associations with brain health. Given the evidence that EEDCs affect brain health and play a role in the development of cognitive dysfunction and neurodegenerative disease, and the constant environmental exposure through foods and everyday products has led this to becoming a great public health concern. Using a bioinformatic approach to find nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF1) gene targets involved in mitochondrial dysfunction, that are both estrogen and EEDC-sensitive, we found several genes involved in the gene pathways of Alzheimer’s disease (AD): APBB2, EIF2S1, ENO1, MAPT, and PAXIP1. Using the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011-2014 datasets to assess EEDC bioburden and associations with surrogate indicators of brain health, which include cognitive scores, memory questions, and taste and smell data, we found phthalate bioburden to be significantly higher in those with adverse brain health vii and significantly higher in females. In our logistic regression model when controlling for all known and suspected covariates in AD, in females, the phthalates in females ECP, MBP, MOH, MZP, and MIB in males and the phthalates COP, ECP, MBP, MC1, MEP, MHH, MOH, and MIB were significantly associated with poor cognitive test scores, poor memory, and taste and smell dysfunction. Among the metalloestrogens, Cd bioburden was higher in those with poor cognitive performance, poor memory, and taste and smell dysfunction, with the trend more significant in males. Among oral contraceptive (OC) and HRT (hormone replacement therapy) use, in our logistic regression model when controlling for all known and suspected covariates in AD, past OC and HRT use was associated with better cognitive test scores. The study provides further evidence of the complex role EEDCs play in overall brain health through other biological mechanisms and fills a gap in knowledge that demonstrates EEDCs effects on brain health in a geriatric age population.

Bakgrund: Tidigare studier visar på att en hälsosam kost kan kopplas till kognitiv funktion, såsom minne och andra mentala funktioner i hjärnan. Människan behöver regelbundet intag av näringsämnen och vid ett balanserat intag av kolhydrater, fett och protein kan hjärnan och kroppen uppnå optimal funktion. Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka kostens samt olika livsmedels effekt på hjärnhälsa hos friska vuxna individer i åldern 50 år och uppåt. Metod: Litteraturöversikten baserad på åtta vetenskapliga artiklar som hittades i databaserna Medline och PubMed. Analysen utfördes enligt systematisk översikt med hjälp av ramverket PICO. Resultat: Sammanställningen av tidigare forskning lyfter fram kunskapen om sambandet mellan kost och hjärnhälsa samt betonar speciella framgångsfaktorer inom ämnet.  Samtliga artiklar uppnådde statistisk signifikans och syftet kunde besvaras. Slutsats: Fortsatt forskning bör studeras med bredare perspektiv för att tillgodose alla kriterier för främjande av hjärnhälsa. Aktuella studien har ringat in viktiga faktorer för att utveckla en god hjärnhälsa via kosten. Att studera kostens påverkan på hjärnhälsa kan vara nyckeln till att förbättra hälsan globalt. / Background: Previous studies show that a healthy diet can be linked to cognitive function, such as memory and other mental functions of the brain. Humans need a regular intake of nutrients, and with a balanced intake of carbohydrates, fat and proteins, can the brain and body achieve optimal function. Objective: The aim is to research the effect of nutrition and different food on brain health on healthy adults aged 50 and over. Method: The literature review was based on eight scientific articles found in the databases Medline and PubMed. The analysis was performed according to a systematic review using the PICO framework. Results: The compilation of previous research highlights the knowledge of the connection between diet and brain health and emphasizes special success factors within the subject. All articles achieved statistical significance and the purpose could be answered. Conclusion: Continued research should be studied with broader perspectives to satisfy all criteria for promoting brain health. The current study has identified important factors for developing good brain health through nutrition. Studying the impact of diet on brain health may be the key to improving health globally.