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<600">people Human Brain Project (HBP) researchers use whole-brain virtual models to simulate what happens when neural stimulation is applied to the aging human brain .
< /p>News from the Human Brain Project on April 26
These models provide insights into the dynamics of healthy brains during aging Provides new insights and, crucially, can help identify new targets and strategies for therapeutic neurostimulation.
As the brain ages, it “reorganizes” itself: its neural dynamics and connections between neurons undergo dramatic changes, often leading to cognitive decline in cognitive function. Non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, such as the application of electrical currents or magnetic fields, have recently been identified as possible treatments for neurological and degenerative diseases, contrasting and mitigating the natural effects of aging.
However, large-scale experimental studies of healthy human brains have significant ethical limitations. A team of Spanish researchers led by Professor Gustavo Deco of Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona has overcome these limitations with the help of modeling and simulation.
Professor Gustavo Deco
Their research was published in ” Cerebral Cortex and used a resting-state fMRI dataset of 620 healthy adults who were Collected in the previous study, 310 of them were over the age of 65 and another 310 were under the age of 65.
Research published in the journal Cerebral on March 21, 2022: 5.357 Cortex. >
The research team looked for key differences in the state of the brains of the two groups and identified a region that resembles the so-called rich club. state of the brain, a network of 12 interconnected brain centers.
“Rich People’s Club” network (the picture above is not shared with this article)
“We found that older participants had lower exposure to brain states that overlapped with the “rich club” organization of the brain. This state is key to the efficient transfer of information within the brain ,” explained Anira Escrichs of Pompeu Fabra University, first author of the study.
“We successfully simulated the brain states of the elderly group detected in the whole-brain computational model. We then applied artificial stimulation to all brain regions of the model , looking for a way to induce a brain state similar to that observed in younger participants.”
The study’s lead authors, Professor Gustavo Deco and Anira Escrichs
The research team found that some areas of the brain is the best area to force older adults to transition into middle age – they identified the Precuneus, a prominent area of the “rich club”, as the best target.
The long-term work of the HPB flagship project team is critical in creating and studying computational models of the human brain that support transitions between brain states.
In addition to providing new information on how the brain responds differently to external stimuli depending on age, this research may lay the groundwork for new treatments.
“We believe these findings may have important implications for designing neurostimulation interventions and reversing the effects of aging on brain function,” Escrichs concluded.
p>University of Pompeu Fabra founded in 1990
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