a Department of Psychology , The University of Alabama , Tuscaloosa , AL , USA.
b Alabama Research Institute on Aging, The University of Alabama , Tuscaloosa , AL , USA.
Aging Ment Health. 2019 Jul;23(7):793-799. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2018.1531383. Epub 2018 Nov 17.
As the population of the world gets older, cognitive and mental health decline in older adults has become one of the most pressing scientific problems of the 21st century. It has been well-established that multiple pathways exist that can lead to future cognitive decline and the development of age-related mental health conditions. Making matters more complicated is the fact that aging is not a homogenous or simple process; rather, each person brings a diverse set of circumstances to the table, leading to differences in biologically aging. Research is needed to identify how the intersection of environmental and biological factors may protect older adults or put them at future risk for cognitive decline and the development of age-related mental health conditions. Furthermore, each potential factor may impact different domains of cognition and mental health or may impact individuals differentially based on genetic, environmental, social, emotional, and behavioral factors. Neuroimaging is one key tool that can be used to discover and assess markers of cognitive and mental health. The goal of this special issue is to expand the science on how biological markers can aid the understanding of aging and mental health through the lens of the individual from an international perspective, representing Germany, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Common themes from these articles are used to support the new Seed and Soil Model of Neurocognitive Disorders.
随着世界人口老龄化，老年人的认知和心理健康下降已成为 21 世纪最紧迫的科学问题之一。已经证实，有多种途径可能导致未来的认知能力下降和与年龄相关的心理健康问题的发展。更复杂的是，衰老不是一个同质或简单的过程；相反，每个人都带来了一系列不同的情况，导致生物衰老存在差异。需要研究来确定环境和生物因素的交叉如何可能保护老年人或使他们在未来面临认知能力下降和与年龄相关的心理健康问题的风险。此外，每个潜在因素可能会影响认知和心理健康的不同领域，或者可能会根据遗传、环境、社会、情感和行为因素对个体产生不同的影响。神经影像学是一种可以用来发现和评估认知和心理健康标志物的关键工具。本期特刊的目的是从国际视角，通过个体的视角来扩展关于生物标志物如何通过德国、中国台湾、泰国、英国和美国的研究来帮助理解衰老和心理健康的科学。这些文章的共同主题被用来支持神经认知障碍的新种子和土壤模型。
