Neurocognitive Aging Section

Peter Rapp , Ph.D., Chief

Age-related cognitive decline threatens independent living, compromises the quality of life, and represents a key risk for the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Research in the Neurocognitive Aging Section (NAS) aims to understand the basis of cognitive aging across multiple levels of analysis, from the regulation of neuronal gene expression critical for memory-related synaptic plasticity, to the organization of large-scale neural network dynamics linked to cognitive function. In addition to illuminating substrates of impairment, NAS research has begun to outline a neurobiological account of positive trajectories in aging, revealing neuroadaptive changes that appear critical for maintaining normal memory in old age. Novel initiatives currently underway include (1) translational studies in animal models and humans pointing to conserved contributions of the cerebellum to cognitive aging; (2) research establishing a rat model for interrogating the social neuroscience of cognitive aging; and (3) an open science resource of longitudinal behavioral, neuroimaging, and biospecimen samples in rats for research on the mechanistic basis of neurocognitive reserve and resilience.

Portfolio/Research Areas

  • Neural network representation of recent experience in cognitive aging
  • Quantitative neuroanatomy in relation to individual differences in cognitive aging
  • Neuroadaptive substrates of successful cognitive aging
  • Disrupted excitatory/inhibitory balance and neurodegenerative risk
  • Functional MRI analysis of neurocognitive aging in preclinical models
  • Neurocognitive effects of non-invasive brain stimulation
  • Open data resource for research on neurocognitive reserve and resilience, Successful Trajectories of Aging: Reserve and Resilience in RatS (STARRRS)

Findings and Publications

Ash JA, Lu H, Taxier LR, Long JM, Yang Y, Stein EA, Rapp PR. Functional connectivity with the retrosplenial cortex predicts cognitive aging in rats. PNAS, 113: 12286-91, 2016. 10.1073/pnas.1525309113

Long JM, Perez EJ, Roberts JA, Roberts MT, Rapp PR. Reelin in the years: decline in the number of reelin immunoreactive neurons in the entorhinal cortex in aged monkeys with memory impairment. Neurobiol. Aging, 87: 132-137, 2020. 10.1016/ j. neurobiolaging. 2019.12.010

Weiler M, Stieger KC, Long JM, Rapp PR. Transcranial magnetic stimulation in alzheimer's disease: Are we ready? eNeuro 7 2020. PMCID: PMC6948923

Bañuelos C, Kittleson JR, LaNasa KH, Galiano CS, Roth SM, Perez EJ, Long JM, Roberts MT, Fong S, Rapp PR. Cognitive aging and the primate basal forebrain revisited: Disproportionate GABAergic vulnerability revealed. J Neurosci 43: 8425-8441, 2023. PMCID: PMC10711728

Baxter MG, Roberts MT, Roberts JA, Rapp PR. Neuropsychology of cognitive aging in rhesus monkeys. Neurobiol Aging 130: 40-49, 2023. PMCID: PMC10530179

Stern Y, Albert M, Barnes CA, Cabeza R, Pascual-Leone A, Rapp PR. A framework for concepts of reserve and resilience in aging. Neurobiol Aging 124: 100-103, 2023. PMCID: PMC10424718