Ageing research reviews
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Ageing research reviews · May 2014
ReviewA quantitative neural network approach to understanding aging phenotypes.
Basic research on neurocognitive aging has traditionally adopted a reductionist approach in the search for the basis of cognitive preservation versus decline. However, increasing evidence suggests that a network level understanding of the brain can provide additional novel insight into the structural and functional organization from which complex behavior and dysfunction emerge. ⋯ Consistent with current efforts in this area, here we outline one analytic strategy that attempts to quantify graph theory metrics more precisely, with the goal of improving diagnostic sensitivity and predictive accuracy for differential trajectories in neurocognitive aging. Ultimately, such an approach may yield useful measures for gauging the efficacy of potential preventative interventions and disease modifying treatments early in the course of aging.