Old is Gold: Neuroscience Wisdom

When making decisions, we often consider possible future outcomes to make a choice given our current circumstances. To do this we rely on an internal model for our actions and their consequences. Over the course of my presentation, I will talk about what habits are, how our brain flips between habits and other measures of decision making, brain areas involved, and how we are able to study them in the lab.

Perhaps the most unifying feature of the human experience is the reality that everyone undergoes the aging process. The biological benefits of increased access to nutrition, education and medical care over the past century have resulted in the current generation of individuals over 65 years of age having significant brain and cognitive health advantages compared to previous generations. This cultural evolution has allowed substantial extensions of average productive lifespans, and indeed, older individuals remain active in the work force longer today than ever before. Despite these improvements, a substantial number of individuals still face the difficulties that can arise with age-related cognitive impairments. A major goal of brain aging research is to understand the basic biological processes that enable high-functioning aged individuals to sustain cognitive health, and what differs between these individuals and those who experience more serious cognitive impairments. This talk highlights findings that shed light on risk factors of age-associated cognitive decline, as well as lifestyle and biological factors associated with successful brain aging.