A culture-brain link: Negative age stereotypes predict alzheimer's disease biomarkers

Becca R. Levy; Luigi Ferrucci; Alan B. Zonderman; Martin D. Slade; Juan Troncoso; Susan M. Resnick

doi:10.1037/pag0000062

A culture-brain link: Negative age stereotypes predict alzheimer's disease biomarkers

Becca R. Levy, Luigi Ferrucci, Alan B. Zonderman, Martin D. Slade, Juan Troncoso, Susan M. Resnick

School of Medicine

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

65 Scopus citations

Abstract

Although negative age stereotypes have been found to predict adverse outcomes among older individuals, it was unknown whether the influence of stereotypes extends to brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease. To consider this possibility, we drew on dementia-free participants, in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, whose age stereotypes were assessed decades before yearly magnetic resonance images and brain autopsies were performed. Those holding more-negative age stereotypes earlier in life had significantly steeper hippocampal-volume loss and significantly greater accumulation of neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques, adjusting for relevant covariates. These findings suggest a new pathway to identifying mechanisms and potential interventions related to the pathology of Alzheimer's disease.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	82-88
Number of pages	7
Journal	Psychology and aging
Volume	31
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000062
State	Published - Feb 1 2016

Keywords

Age stereotypes
Alzheimer's disease
Brain
Perceptions of aging
Social cognition

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Social Psychology
Aging
Geriatrics and Gerontology

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abstract = "Although negative age stereotypes have been found to predict adverse outcomes among older individuals, it was unknown whether the influence of stereotypes extends to brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease. To consider this possibility, we drew on dementia-free participants, in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, whose age stereotypes were assessed decades before yearly magnetic resonance images and brain autopsies were performed. Those holding more-negative age stereotypes earlier in life had significantly steeper hippocampal-volume loss and significantly greater accumulation of neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques, adjusting for relevant covariates. These findings suggest a new pathway to identifying mechanisms and potential interventions related to the pathology of Alzheimer's disease.",

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A culture-brain link: Negative age stereotypes predict alzheimer's disease biomarkers

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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