Hallmarks of healthy cognitive aging: inter-individual differences in aging trajectories - PubMed
4 hours ago
- #Episodic Memory
- #Cognitive Aging
- #Neuroplasticity
- Cognitive aging is highly heterogeneous, with significant inter-individual variability in cognitive performance trajectories.
- Chronological age alone is a poor predictor of cognitive health; biological and network-level differences play a crucial role.
- The medial temporal lobe is critical for episodic memory and spatial navigation, with its integrity influencing cognitive outcomes.
- Cognitive decline is more linked to alterations in network regulation and synaptic plasticity than to overt neuronal loss.
- Key mechanisms shaping cognitive aging include network organization, excitation-inhibition balance, neuromodulatory tone, and glial/vascular regulation.
- Cognitive resilience depends on preserving coordinated network dynamics, highlighting the importance of system-level frameworks.
- Longitudinal, multidimensional approaches are advocated to identify early regulatory shifts and maintain cognitive function.