• Carol A. Barnes, Ph.D., Director, Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, Regents' Professor, Psychology
• Thomas C. Foster, Ph.D., McKnight Chair for Research on Aging and Memory, Associate Professor, Neuroscience
• J. David Sweatt, Ph.D., Director, UAB Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, Chairman, Department of Neurobiology
• Eric M. Reiman, M.D., Ph.D., Afflicate Faculty, Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, Director, Alzheimer's Disease Research Program – Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center

The Cognitive Aging Summit is a collaborative effort supported by the National Institute of Aging and the McKnight Brain Research Foundation that will bring together a range of experts in a variety of research fields to discuss the most cutting edge advances in our understanding of age-related brain and behavioral changes. It is anticipated that recommendations for research directions would emerge from the Summit and that subsequent research would lead to practical recommendations and interventions for maintenance of cognitive health throughout life.

• Carol A. Barnes, Ph.D., Director, Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, Regents' Professor, Psychology
• Lynn Nadel, Ph.D., Affliate Faculty, Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, Regents' Professor, Psychology
• Eric M. Reiman, M.D., Ph.D. Afflicate Faculty, Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute Director, Alzheimer's Disease Research Program – Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center

Individual researchers present their most exciting recent findings. Brain-storming session on a coordianted biomarkers research initiative for future interations.

• Carol A. Barnes, Ph.D., Director, Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, Regents' Professor, Psychology
• Elizabeth L. Glisky, Ph.D., Faculty, Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, Professor, Psychology
• Lee Ryan, Ph.D., Faculty, Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, Associate Professor, Psychology
• Alfred W. Kaszniak, Ph.D., Faculty, Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, Department Head, Psychology

• Cognitive changes in normal aging: What does the hippocampus contribute? (C.A. Barnes)

  Objective: Aging is associated with specific impairments of learning and memory, some of which are similar to those caused by hippocampal damage. Studies of the effects of aging on hippocampal anatomy, physiology, plasticity and network properties in rats suggest a high degree of specificity in such age-related changes in the different subregions of this structure. Experiments will be reviewed that link changes in cognition to selective deficits in plasticity mechanisms, altered hippocampal network dynamics and network activity pattern reactivation in old rats. Recent electrophysiological data collected in primate hippocampus will be presented that indicate neural states similar to those observed in the rodent that are associated with memory consolidation. Finally, experiments will be described that point to the dentate gyrus in rats and monkeys, as being particularly vulnerable to changes in normal aging, which is quite distinct from the pattern observed in Alzheimer's disease.

• The cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology of normal aging and Alzheimer's Disease (E.L. Glisky)

  Objective: Increasing age is associated with increased variability in cognitive function: Some older adults remain active and high functioning well into their 80s while others are struggling to keep going at 65. A challenge for psychologists and neuroscientists has been to try to account for this variability and to identify what is "normal" and what may be pathologic. This presentation will illustrate this variability in two cognitive domains that appear most affected by age, memory and executive function in a large cohort of "normal" older adults aged 65-92. Specifically, longitudinal data will be presented showing that neuropsychological composite measures of medial temporal/memory function and frontal/executive function, decline independently over time. Further, although there is considerable inter-individual variability in the change trajectories, it still may be possible to identify a subset of individuals who are aging pathologically and a subset of individuals who are aging supernormally in one or both of these neurocognitive functions.

• Assessing risk for Alzheimer's disease using diffusion-weighted MRI (L. Ryan)

  Objective: Accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in its earliest stages, prior to the onset of cognitive symptoms, remains an important challenge for researchers. I will describe an ongoing project that is designed to assess the utility of diffusion-weighted MRI in identifying early neuropathological markers of AD. Recent evidence suggests that inflammation may be an early contributor to the development of AD pathology. Diffusion MRI is sensitive to the presence of inflammation in the brain, and may be particularly useful as a marker of early AD. In this project, we compare regional diffusion MRI measures in cognitively normal older adults with no known risk for AD to older adults with one or more known risk factor for AD, including genetic susceptibility and mild cognitive impairment. Other factors may actually decrease risk for AD, such as taking a daily aspirin, or long term nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) use in chronic arthritis patients. Results to date show that genetic risk for AD is associated with a pattern of diffusion consistent with the presence of inflammation, particularly within medial temporal lobe regions. In other regions, genetic risk is associated with more pronounced age-related changes in diffusion. Importantly, both aspirin and long-term NSAID use appear to have a beneficial effect on brain function measure by diffusion MRI and these effects can outweigh the negative impact of genetic risk. The results suggest that diffusion MRI may provide a sensitive marker of early inflammation associated with AD pathology, and that anti-inflammatory drugs may have ameliorative effects on brain function.

• Connecting cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychological assessment in Alzheimer's Disease (A.W. Kaszniak)

  Objective: Over the past several years, developments in cognitive neuroscience have led to both new interpretations of traditional clinical neuropsychological test performance of persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to the development of new assessment approaches. This presentation will review these developments, with a particular emphasis on the assessment of memory, metamemory, and executive functioning. The presentation will also examine present gaps in the neuropsychological assessment knowledge base concerning person with, or a risk for AD, and possibilities for basic cognitive neuroscience to help close these gaps.

Partial overlap of the signs and symptoms of clinical depression and the early stages of Alzheimer's disease and other dementing illnesses can create difficulties for accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment planning. In this presentation, aimed at family and professional caregivers, both overlapping and differentiating features of depression and dementia will be reviewed. An emphasis will be placed on how family members and professionals can provide observations that are helpful in diagnosis and treatment planning.

Many older adults who experience changes in their memory functioning are concerned about whether this may represent the early manifestation of Alzheimer's disease or other illnesses that cause the syndrome of dementia. This presentation to non-professional community members will describe both normal age-related memory changes, and those that are symptomatic of various illnesses, including Alzheimer's disease. New research on the relationship between diet, exercise, mental activity, and memory functioning in older age will also be discussed.

The Institute of Neurobiology is a multidisciplinary institute dedicated to scientific research in several areas of the Neurosciences. It organizes a standing series of high-quality seminars for the acedemic staff and graduate students to interact with renowned scientists from around the world.

Provide a presentation forum for graduate students supported by our Neurobiology of Aging training grant and other students and faculty involved in the Neurobiology of Aging.

In this presentation aimed at professional psychologists and other behavioral health professionals, an overview will be provided of current Alzheimer's Disease biomedical and neuropsychological research advances. An emphasis will be placed on both advances contributing to improved early diagnostic accuracy, and those contributing to current treatment and future hopes for cure and prevention.

Aging is associated with specific impairments of learning and memory, some of which are similar to those caused by hippocampal damage. Studies of the effects of aging on hippocampal anatomy, physiology, plasticity and network properties in mammals suggest a high degree of specificity in such age-related changes in the different subregions of this structure. Studies will be reviewed that link changes in cognition to selective deficits in plasticity mechanisms, altered hippocampal network dynamics and network activity pattern reactivation in old rats. Finally, recent data collected in primate hippocampus will be presented that indicate neural states similar to those observed in the rodent that are associated with memory consolidation.

• Fabiane M. Hirsch, Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, University of Arizona
• Audrey L. Holland, Ph.D., Professor Emerita, Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, University of Arizona
• Alfred W. Kaszniak, Ph.D., Faculty, Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, Department Head, Psychology, University of Arizona

• UA Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
• UAB Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
• Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainsville, Florida
• Evelyn F. McKnight Center for Age-Related Memory Loss, University of Miami, Miami, Florida

• Carol Barnes, Ph.D., Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona
• Timothy J. Bussey, Ph.D., Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge
• Rebecca Burwell, Ph.D., Psychology and Neuroscience, Brown University
• Lee Ryan, Ph.D., Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona
• Ms. Sara Burke, Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona

• "Threshold changes in plasticity: relation to memory decline"
  T.C. Foster (Gainsville, Florida)
• "Modulating the age-related increase in microglian activation attenuates the neuroinflammatory changes which are associated with deficits in LTP"
  M.A Lynch (Dublin, Ireland)
• "Differential outcomes in neurocognitive aging"
  M. Gallagher (Baltimore, Maryland)
• "New models of cognitive aging emerging from gene array and calcium-related physiological studies"
  P.W. Landfield (Lexington, Kentucky)