Does social capital enhance political participation in older adults? Multi-level evidence from the European Quality of Life Survey.

This study explored the role of social capital for non-institutionalised and institutionalised political participation among older adults compared to younger age groups using European Quality of Life Survey data (EQLS) from 2016 and 33 countries (n = 36,908). Multilevel logistic regression analysis was employed to assess the association between individual- and country-level social capital and political participation. Findings revealed that, at the individual level, active associational engagement was positively related to both forms of political participation, while social trust and political trust were linked only to non-institutionalised participation-higher social trust and lower political trust were associated with a greater likelihood of participation.

A lactate-dependent shift of glycolysis mediates synaptic and cognitive processes in male mice.

Astrocytes control brain activity via both metabolic processes and gliotransmission, but the physiological links between these functions are scantly known. Here we show that endogenous activation of astrocyte type-1 cannabinoid (CB1) receptors determines a shift of glycolysis towards the lactate-dependent production of D-serine, thereby gating synaptic and cognitive functions in male mice. Mutant mice lacking the CB1 receptor gene in astrocytes (GFAP-CB1-KO) are impaired in novel object recognition (NOR) memory.

Autoimmune inflammation triggers aberrant astrocytic calcium signaling to impair synaptic plasticity.

Cortical pathology involving inflammatory and neurodegenerative mechanisms is a hallmark of multiple sclerosis and a correlate of disease progression and cognitive decline. Astrocytes play a pivotal role in multiple sclerosis initiation and progression but astrocyte-neuronal network alterations contributing to gray matter pathology remain undefined. Here we unveil deregulation of astrocytic calcium signaling and astrocyte-to-neuron communication as key pathophysiological mechanisms of cortical dysfunction in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model of multiple sclerosis.

On the Role of Personality in Successful Aging: A Scoping Review.

Background And Objectives: This study aimed to critically examine current knowledge on the role of personality in successful aging, considering Hooker and McAdams' 3-level, 6-foci model of personality. The aim was also to pinpoint knowledge gaps that research should address in the future.

Research Design And Methods: We carried out a scoping review of the literature on successful aging and personality, following the 5-step framework proposed by Arksey and O'Malley and further expanded by Levac et al.

Life-course transitions and exclusion from social relations in the lives of older men and women.

There is increasing interest across European contexts in promoting active social lives in older age, and counteracting pathways and outcomes related to social isolation and loneliness for men and women in later life. This is evidenced within national and European level policy, including the 2021 Green Paper on Ageing and its concern with understanding how risks can accrue for European ageing populations in the relational sphere. Research indicates that life-course transitions can function as a source of these risks, leading to a range of potentially exclusionary impacts for the social relations of older men and women.