Cognitive aging and experience of playing a musical instrument.

Musical instrument training has been found to be associated with higher cognitive performance in older age. However, it is not clear whether this association reflects a reduced rate of cognitive decline in older age (differential preservation), and/or the persistence of cognitive advantages associated with childhood musical training (preserved differentiation). It is also unclear whether this association is consistent across different cognitive domains.

Symptoms of depression and anxiety in young people in El Salvador: Associations with peer and family relationships, artistic activities and health behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Little is known regarding the correlates of mental health, during the COVID-19 pandemic, in lower income countries. Using data from almost the entire population of graduating high school students in El Salvador, we examine the associations between depression and anxiety symptoms and potentially protective factors including peer and family relationships, health behaviours and artistic leisure activities.

Methods: Data comes from the AVANZO survey conducted in El Salvador with 42,314 graduating high school students aged 15-21 in November 2020.

Sleep quality, perivascular spaces and brain health markers in ageing - A longitudinal study in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936.

Background: Sleep is thought to play a major role in brain health and general wellbeing. However, few longitudinal studies have explored the relationship between sleep habits and imaging markers of brain health, particularly markers of brain waste clearance such as perivascular spaces (PVS), of neurodegeneration such as brain atrophy, and of vascular disease, such as white matter hyperintensities (WMH). We explore these associations using data collected over 6 years from a birth cohort of older community-dwelling adults in their 70s.

Cognitive Change Before Old Age (11 to 70) Predicts Cognitive Change During Old Age (70 to 82).

Identifying predictors of cognitive decline in old age helps us understand its mechanisms and identify those at greater risk. Here, we examined how cognitive change from ages 11 to 70 is associated with cognitive change at older ages (70 to 82 years) in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 longitudinal study ( = 1,091 at recruitment). Using latent-growth-curve models, we estimated rates of change from ages 70 to 82 in general cognitive ability () and in three cognitive domains: visuospatial, memory, and processing speed.