parietal lobe

one of the lobes of the cerebrum, situated at the top, behind the frontal lobe. The primary sensory area is located in the parietal lobe - this is where nerve impulses carrying sensations of pain, temperature, touch, and pressure come. Areas in the parietal lobe are also involved in spatial orientation, speech and language development, and attention.

Diabetes and tau tangles linked independently of Alzheimer's

  • Type 2 diabetes is known to increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease.
  • In a reasonably large study, diabetes was found to be linked with higher levels of tau protein, regardless of the presence of dementia.
  • Diabetes was also linked with greater brain shrinkage.
  • The finding adds to evidence that diabetes increases the risk of cognitive impairment in old age.

A study involving older adults has found that diabetes was associated with higher levels of tau protein and greater brain atrophy.

The study involved 816 older adults (average age 74), of whom 397 had mild cognitive impairment, 191 had Alzheimer's disease, and 228 people had no cognitive problems. Fifteen percent (124) had diabetes.

Those with diabetes had greater levels of tau protein in the spinal and brain fluid regardless of cognitive status. Tau tangles are characteristic of Alzheimer's.

Those with diabetes also had cortical tissue that was an average of 0.03 millimeter less than those who didn't have diabetes, regardless of their cognitive status. This greater brain atrophy in the frontal and parietal cortices may be partly related to the increase in tau protein.

There was no link between diabetes and amyloid-beta, the other main pathological characteristic of Alzheimer's.

Previous research has indicated that people with type 2 diabetes have double the risk of developing dementia. Previous research has also found that those who had been diabetic for longer had a greater degree of brain atrophy

The findings support the idea that type 2 diabetes may have a negative effect on cognition independent of dementia, and that this effect may be driven by an increase in tau phosphorylation.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-09/aaon-dab082715.php

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Alzheimer's protein may impair mental function even in healthy adults

March, 2012

The protein associated with Alzheimer's disease appears to impair cognitive function many years before symptoms manifest. Higher levels of this protein are more likely in carriers of the Alzheimer’s gene, and such carriers may be more affected by the protein’s presence.

Another study adds to the evidence that changes in the brain that may lead eventually to Alzheimer’s begin many years before Alzheimer’s is diagnosed. The findings also add to the evidence that what we regard as “normal” age-related cognitive decline is really one end of a continuum of which the other end is dementia.

In the study, brain scans were taken of 137 highly educated people aged 30-89 (participants in the Dallas Lifespan Brain Study). The amount of amyloid-beta (characteristic of Alzheimer’s) was found to increase with age, and around a fifth of those over 60 had significantly elevated levels of the protein. These higher amounts were linked with worse performance on tests of working memory, reasoning and processing speed.

More specifically, across the whole sample, amyloid-beta levels affected processing speed and fluid intelligence (in a dose-dependent relationship — that is, as levels increased, these functions became more impaired), but not working memory, episodic memory, or crystallized intelligence. Among the elevated-levels group, increased amyloid-beta was significantly associated with poorer performance for processing speed, working memory, and fluid intelligence, but not episodic memory or crystallized intelligence. Among the group without elevated levels of the protein, increasing amyloid-beta only affected fluid intelligence.

These task differences aren’t surprising: processing speed, working memory, and fluid intelligence are the domains that show the most decline in normal aging.

Those with the Alzheimer’s gene APOE4 were significantly more likely to have elevated levels of amyloid-beta. While 38% of the group with high levels of the protein had the risky gene variant, only 15% of those who didn’t have high levels carried the gene.

Note that, while the prevalence of carriers of the gene variant matched population estimates (24%), the proportion was higher among those in the younger age group — 33% of those under 60, compared to 19.5% of those aged 60 or older. It seems likely that many older carriers have already developed MCI or Alzheimer’s, and thus been ineligible for the study.

The average age of the participants was 64, and the average years of education 16.4.

Amyloid deposits varied as a function of age and region: the precuneus, temporal cortex, anterior cingulate and posterior cingulate showed the greatest increase with age, while the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, parietal and occipital cortices showed smaller increases with age. However, when only those aged 60+ were analyzed, the effect of age was no longer significant. This is consistent with previous research, and adds to evidence that age-related cognitive impairment, including Alzheimer’s, has its roots in damage occurring earlier in life.

In another study, brain scans of 408 participants in the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging also found that higher levels of amyloid-beta were associated with poorer cognitive performance — but that this interacted with APOE status. Specifically, carriers of the Alzheimer’s gene variant were significantly more affected by having higher levels of the protein.

This may explain the inconsistent findings of previous research concerning whether or not amyloid-beta has significant effects on cognition in normal adults.

As the researchers of the first study point out, what’s needed is information on the long-term course of these brain changes, and they are planning to follow these participants.

In the meantime, all in all, the findings do provide more strength to the argument that your lifestyle in mid-life (and perhaps even younger) may have long-term consequences for your brain in old age — particularly for those with a genetic susceptibility to Alzheimer’s.

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Why diabetes is linked to cognitive impairment in older adults

January, 2012
  • The link between diabetes and cognitive impairment in older adults seems to be mediated by the release of molecules that increase inflammation, leading to constricted blood vessels, thus reduced blood flow, and finally loss of gray matter.

Why is diabetes associated with cognitive impairment and even dementia in older adults? New research pinpoints two molecules that trigger a cascade of events that end in poor blood flow and brain atrophy.

The study involved 147 older adults (average age 65), of whom 71 had type 2 diabetes and had been taking medication to manage it for at least five years. Brain scans showed that the diabetic patients had greater blood vessel constriction than the age- and sex-matched controls, and more brain atrophy. The reduction in brain tissue was most marked in the grey matter in the parietal and occipital lobes and cerebellum. Research has found that, at this age, while the average brain shrinks by about 1% annually, a diabetic brain might shrink by as much as 15%. Diabetics also had more white matter hyperintensities in the temporal, parietal and occipital lobes.

Behaviorally, the diabetics also had greater depression, slower walking, and executive dysfunction.

The reduced performance of blood vessels (greater vasoconstriction, blunted vasodilatation), and increased brain atrophy in the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes, was associated with two adhesion molecules – sVCAM and sICAM. White matter hyperintensities were not associated with the adhesion molecules, inflammatory markers, or blood vessel changes.

It seems that the release of these molecules, probably brought about by chronic hyperglycemia and insulin resistance, produces chronic inflammation, which in turn brings about constricted blood vessels, reduced blood flow, and finally loss of neurons. The blood vessel constriction and the brain atrophy were also linked to higher glucose levels.

The findings suggest that these adhesion molecules provide two biomarkers of vascular health that could enable clinicians to recognize impending brain damage, that could then perhaps be prevented.

The findings also add weight to the growing evidence that diabetes management is crucial in preventing cognitive decline.

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Women's brains grow after giving birth

November, 2010

A small study indicates that nurturing mothers and increased reward centers in the brain go hand-in-hand — although the jury’s still out on which comes first.

The issue of “mommy brain” is a complex one. Inconsistent research results make it clear that there is no simple answer to the question of whether or not pregnancy and infant care change women’s brains. But a new study adds to the picture.

Brain scans of 19 women two to four weeks and three to four months after they gave birth showed that grey matter volume increased by a small but significant amount in the midbrain (amygdala, substantia nigra, hypothalamus), prefrontal cortex, and parietal lobe. These areas are involved in motivation and reward, emotion regulation, planning, and sensory perception.

Mothers who were most enthusiastic about their babies were significantly more likely to show this increase in the midbrain regions. The authors speculated that the “maternal instinct” might be less of an instinctive response and more of a result of active brain building. Interestingly, while the brain’s reward regions don’t usually change as a result of learning, one experience that does have this effect is that of addiction.

While the reasons may have to do with genes, personality traits, infant behavior, or present circumstances, previous research has found that mothers who had more nurturing in their childhood had more grey matter in those brain regions involved in empathy and reading faces, which also correlated with the degree of activation in those regions when their baby cried.

A larger study is of course needed to confirm these findings.

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