Northwestern Now
Findings open new avenue of research in memory loss
Northwestern studies SuperAgers to better understand what is going right in their brains.
A new Northwestern Medicine study showed cognitive SuperAgers have resistance to the development of fibrous tangles in a brain region related to memory and which are known to be markers of Alzheimerâs disease.Â
The tangles are made of the tau protein which forms structures that transport nutrients within the nerve cell. These tangles disrupt the cellâs transport system, hampering communication within the neuron and preventing nutrients from performing their particular job within the cell. The end result of tangle formation is cell death.
A new Northwestern Medicine study showed cognitive SuperAgers have resistance to the development of fibrous tangles in a brain region related to memory and which are known to be markers of Alzheimer's disease.
SuperAger brains resist protein tangles that lead to Alzheimer s eurekalert.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from eurekalert.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Psychology professor Dr. Carmen Westerberg analyzes sleep EEG data at Northwestern University in 2009. Photo courtesy of Dr. Carmen Westerberg
After dedicating years of education to brain research and psychology, Dr. Carmen Westerberg, an associate psychology professor at Texas State, was awarded $300,000 to fund her upcoming study exploring the effects of sleep on memory retention and formation.
The funds for the study were granted by the McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience, which grants up to four awards annually for studies in Memory and Cognitive Disorders, hoping to push psychologists toward scientific improvements in human health and memory. These scientists are addressing questions related to how general anesthesia and sleep impact memory, and how memory works at the basic level, Ming Guo, chair of the McKnight awards committee says in a press release. Together, we aim to understand the underlying neurobiology of memory and