Fronto-temporal connectivity and memory: patterns of breakdown in ageing and diseases of old age

记忆力丧失是晚年生活中最具破坏性的痛苦之一，但我们对与年龄相关的记忆力衰退的不同原因知之甚少。最近在动物身上的研究表明，涉及记忆的关键结构之间的白质连接(大脑的连接)至关重要，特别是在快速衰老、阿尔茨海默病和血管性痴呆症中。脑成像的新进展--例如扩散张量磁共振成像，可以追踪活着的大脑中的白质纤维；功能神经成像--揭示了大脑在执行认知任务时的活动模式--为探索这些联系在记忆中的重要性，以及它们可能如何促进老年记忆变化的不同模式提供了机会。这项研究项目将在动物研究的基础上，将这些新技术与新颖的记忆测试结合起来。一个核心挑战将是测试连接性的变化是否是理解正常衰老和早期阿尔茨海默病之间界限的关键。

Loss of memory is one of the most devastating afflictions of later life yet we still know relatively little about the different causes of age-related memory decline. Recent studies in animals suggest that white matter connections (the wiring of the brain) between key structures involved in memory, are critically important, especially in rapid aging, Alzheimer‘s disease and vascular dementia. New developments in brain imaging - such as diffusion tensor MRI, which allows white matter fibres in the living brain to be traced, and functional neuroimaging, which reveals patterns of brain activity while performing cognitive tasks - provide the opportunity to explore the importance of these connections in memory, and how they may contribute to the different patterns of memory change seen in old age. This research project will apply these new techniques alongside novel tests of memory based on research in animals. One central challenge will be to test whether changes in connectivity hold the key to understanding the boundary between normal ageing and early Alzheimer‘s disease.