Aging, Memory and Alzheimer’s disease

Colloquium | March 11 | 3:30-5 p.m. | 1104 Berkeley Way West

 William Jagust, Psychology

 Department of Psychology

It has long been known that older individuals often experience decline in their episodic memory abilities. Within the past decade, new approaches have revealed the frequent presence of the aggregated proteins beta-amyloid and tau in the brains of cognitively normal older people. These proteins are also associated with Alzheimer’s disease. By imaging these proteins in normal older people, and pairing imaging studies with the examination of episodic memory, a model that partly explains relationships between aging, memory decline, and Alzheimer’s disease has emerged. This talk with review the evidence for how beta-amyloid and tau interact, how they spread through the brain, and how these phenomena may affect the episodic memory system in aging., 510-3657131