The biological effect of stress on memory during healthy ageing

我们生活在老龄化的人口中。在英国，大约五分之一的人年龄超过65岁。因此，了解健康老龄化所涉及的因素被认为是科学技术的“重大挑战”之一。我们处理压力的能力最近被认为是一个关键因素，因为它与认知能力--如记忆力--和情绪密切相关，还与许多与衰老不良有关的大脑和身体变化有关。这个项目将使用一些互补的方法来研究压力如何影响认知。首先，我们将研究压力中的生理唤醒如何影响个人相关信息的记忆。这使我们能够回答情绪记忆文献中一个突出的问题，即生理应激反应对早期和晚期长期记忆的影响(2)。其次，我们将研究老龄化如何影响压力和记忆之间的联系，从而深入了解不适应压力反应对老年人认知、心理和生物幸福感指标的影响机制。第三，我们将使用多模式神经成像，包括扩散磁共振成像和磁共振波谱(见3，4，5)，以探索大脑结构和功能的变化如何支持老年人的应激反应，从而影响认知能力。在整个项目中，应聘者将有机会在蓬勃发展的学术环境中工作，同时也有机会与我们的工业合作伙伴Bioxdyn共事，为医疗成像服务行业开发神经成像技术。参考文献：1.斯拉维奇通用汽车，欧文先生2014年。从应激到炎症与严重抑郁障碍：抑郁症的社会信号转导理论。心理学通讯，140：774-815.2。塔尔米·D·2014。增强情绪记忆：认知和神经机制。当代心理科学方向，22：430-6.3。作者：黄晓明，陈晓华，等.2015年。进行性多发性硬化症患者的身体残疾与伽马-氨基丁酸浓度降低有关。布莱恩，138：2584-95。4.Muhlert N，Sethi V，Cipolotti L等人。2015年。多发性硬化症患者的灰质与决策能力受损有关。神经学、神经外科和精神病学杂志，86：530-536.5。张晓明，李晓东，陈晓华，等.2013年。用于改进人类白质通路可视化的组平均解剖连接图。核磁共振在生物医学，25：1224-33。

We are living in an ageing population. Roughly one in five people in the UK are aged over 65. Understanding the factors involved in healthy ageing has therefore been identified as one of the "grand challenges" of science and technology. Our ability to handle stress has recently been identified as a crucial factor, as it is significantly associated with cognitive abilities - such as memory - and mood, and with a number of brain and body changes linked to poor ageing (1). This project will examine how stress impacts upon cognition using a number of complementary approaches. First, we will examine how physiological arousal during stress impacts upon memory for personally relevant information. This allows us to answer an outstanding question in the literature on emotional memory about the influence of the physiological stress response on early and late long-term memory (2). Second, we will examine how ageing affects the link between stress and memory, offering insight into the mechanisms through which maladaptive stress-response impacts upon cognitive, psychological and biological markers of wellbeing in ageing. Third, we will use multi-modal neuroimaging, including diffusion MRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (see 3,4,5), to explore how variation in brain structure and function underpins stress-response in older adults, influencing cognitive ability. Throughout this project, the candidate will have the opportunity to work in a thriving academic environment, but also to spend time with our industrial collaborator, Bioxydyn, developing neuroimaging techniques for the medical imaging services industry. References:1. Slavich GM, Irwin MR. 2014. From Stress to Inflammation and Major Depressive Disorder: A Social Signal Transduction Theory of Depression. Psychological Bulletin, 140: 774-815.2. Talmi D. 2014. Enhanced emotional memory: cognitive and neural mechanisms. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22: 430-6.3. Cawley N, Solanky BS, Muhlert N et al. 2015. Reduced gamma-aminobutyric acid concentration is associated with physical disability in progressive multiple sclerosis. Brain, 138: 2584-95. 4. Muhlert N, Sethi V, Cipolotti L et al. 2015. The grey matter correlates of impaired decision-making in multiple sclerosis. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 86: 530-536.5. Cercignani M, Embleton K, Parker GJM et al. 2013. Group-averaged anatomical connectivity mapping for improved human white matter pathway visualisation. NMR in Biomedicine, 25: 1224-33.