Understanding brain aging and dementia : a life course approach
Lawrence J. Whalley (Author)
The life course method compares an individual's long-life and late-life behaviors to gauge one's mental decay. Arguing the life course approach is the best and simplest model for tracking mental development, Lawrence J. Whalley unlocks the mysteries of brain functionality, illuminating the processes that affect the brain during aging, the causes behind these changes, and effective coping strategies. Whalley identifies the genetic factors that determine the pace of aging and the behaviors, starting in childhood, that influence how we age. Through vignettes, charts, and tables, he composes an ac
1 online resource (xxxiv, 403 pages) : illustrations
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Introduction
The life course approach
The well-connected brain
Evolution, aging, and dementia
The aging brain
The biology of the dementias
The disconnected mind
Emotional aging
Dementia syndromes
Dementia risk reduction, 1: concepts, reserve and early life opportunities
Dementia risk reduction, 2: midlife opportunities to delay dementia onset
Dementia risk reduction, 3: multidomain approaches. Introduction
Life Histories and the Life Course Approach
Greater Numbers of the Elderly
The Role of Epigenetics in Brain Aging and Dementia
Social Class and the Life Course
The Study of Individual Differences
Resilience and Social Capital
Developmental Origins of Adult Disease
Limitations of Association Studies and the Perils of Reductionism
Systems Biology, Reductionism, and the Value of Visualization
The Biology of the Aging Mind and Brain
Social Cognition, Aging, and Dementia
The Life Course Approach
Influential Ideas
Developmental Stages
Critical Periods
Programmed Development and Aging
Three Lives
The Developmental Origins of Aging and Adult Disease
Bringing It All Together
The Well-Connected Brain
A Brief Introduction to the Nervous System
Functional Organization
Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Brain Structures and Functions Relevant to Aging
Blueprints for a Well-Connected Brain
The Brain and Language
Brain Maps
Bringing It All Together
Evolution, Aging, and Dementia
Introduction
Is AD Specific to Humans
Human Evolution
Are the Most Evolved Neural Networks More Vulnerable to AD
Is Reactivation of Developmental Programs in the Course of AD Incompatible with the Mature Brain
Brain Aging and the Evolution of Neurological Disease
Bringing It All Together
The Aging Brain
Introduction
The Frontal Lobes and Aging
Brain Blood Vessels
Genes, Diet, and Behavior
Stress Responses and the Aging Brain
Bringing It All Together
The Biology of the Dementias
Historical Trends
The Modern Era: Focus on β-Amyloid
Molecular Biology of Tau
Vascular Cognitive Impairment and Dementia
The Modern Era: Focus on the Biology of Aging
Breakdown of Neural Networks in Dementia
Bringing It All Together
The Disconnected Mind
Introduction
Cognitive Aging
Sensory Systems
What Influences Rates of Cognitive Aging
Attention
Information Processing
General Mental Ability
Memory
Vulnerable People
Personality and Cognitive Aging
Bringing It All Together
Emotional Aging
Emotional Life
Older Adults as Emotional Experts
Emotional States
The Aging Brain and Emotional Aging
The Anatomy of Emotion
Emotional Intelligence
Older Adults as Actors
Life Narratives, Self-concept, and Possible Selves in Late Life
Social Support, Social Cohesion, and Social Pain
How Much Time Is Left
Bringing It All Together
Dementia Syndromes
Introduction
Alzheimer's Disease
Brain Imaging in Early Dementia
Frontotemporal Dementias
Parkinsons Disease with Dementia
Dementias Associated with Brain Blood Vessel Disease
Bringing It All Together
Dementia Risk Reduction, 1: Concepts, Reserve, and Early Life Opportunities
The Dementia Epidemic
Cognitive Reserve
Biological Plausibility of Strategies to Reduce the Risk of Dementia
Early Life Opportunities to Prevent Dementia
Bringing It All Together
Dementia Risk Reduction, 2: Midlife Opportunities to Delay Dementia Onset
The Neurovascular Hypothesis
The Inflammatory and Metabolic Hypotheses
The Amyloid and Related Therapeutic Approaches Hypothesis
Stress, Depression, and the Role of Growth Factors
The Brain Activity Hypothesis
Bringing It All Together
Dementia Risk Reduction, 3: Multidomain Approaches
Background
Nutrients and Dementia
The Multidomain Hypothesis
Bringing It All Together
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