Advancing Research
by funding Grant Programs and Fellowships
Driving Innovation
by guiding studies such as the FAST Initiative, the SuperAgers Initiative, and the TAME Trial
Furthering the Field
by supporting the infrastructure of three NIA Initiatives and leading the Amplifying Geroscience Initiative.
Top Breakthroughs driven by AFAR Experts
Delaying Disease by Targeting Aging
Saving Costs by Extending Healthspan
What are the Hallmarks of Aging?
What is Geroscience?
What is the Longevity Dividend?
Aging is associated with a significant decline in cognition. Noninvasive imaging studies in humans have reported that decreased functional connectivity of the anterior thalamic nuclei (ATN) complex contributes to reduced cognition in older individuals. Dr. Roy previously found that the ventral ATN cell type has lower activity in aged mice, which correlated with a decline in memory function. Single nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNAseq) will be used to reveal cell type-specific alterations in the ATN from young adults through aged mice, and from the ATN of aged mice in which by activating the ventral population, their cognition will exhibit a long-lasting improvement. Multiplexed RNA staining and neural activity recordings will provide a shortlist of genes that may rescue the lower firing levels of ventral ATN in aged mice. Together, this work will uncover molecular signatures of aging in the ATN, which addresses a significant unmet need in the literature.
