In December, the science portal dasGehirn.info visited the Collaborative Research Center – CRC 1436. The visit has now resulted in three fascinating articles that provide insights into the work of our researchers and highlight current research on healthy brain aging.
The Healthy Aging Brain – What Makes “SuperAgers” Special?
In the article “The Healthy Aging Brain”, researchers explore a remarkable phenomenon: some people seem largely unaffected by the typical age-related changes of the brain.
Michael R. Kreutz, Anne Maass, Emrah Düzel, Markus Ullsperger, Stefanie Schreiber, and Marco Taubert explain what characterizes so-called “SuperAgers” and which factors may contribute to maintaining a healthy and high-performing brain even at an advanced age.
Molecular Detectives: A Thought Is More Than Just Neuronal Firing
In “Molecular Detectives: A Thought Is More Than Just Neuronal Firing”, Michael R. Kreutz and Constanze Seidenbecher discuss how the brain changes over the course of life.
They describe how aging affects processes on a molecular level—such as proteins, epigenetic mechanisms, and even the extracellular matrix—and explain why these changes are important for understanding how the brain functions.
The Secret of Neural Reserve
The article “The Secret of Neural Reserve” addresses the question of why some people remain mentally sharp even in old age.
Anne Albrecht, Thomas Wolbers, Jens-Max Hopf, Henryk Barthel, and Markus Ullsperger explain which factors help protect our cognitive abilities and why SuperAgers are often less affected by age-related memory decline.
Successful Aging – Research at the CRC 1436
The series concludes with an interview conducted by the editor-in-chief Arvid Leyh. In the interview, Constanze Seidenbecher, Anne Maass, Michael R. Kreutz, and Emrah Düzel highlight the main research topics of the CRC 1436 and discuss an important question: How can successful aging be achieved – and what can we learn from SuperAgers?