On March 13, WNPR reported on a study led by Mark Laubach, PhD, published this week in the Journal of Neuroscience. The study assessed working memory, which is critical when managing and moving between multiple tasks, in the aging brain. By monitoring neural activity in young and old rats, Dr. Laubach and his colleagues found that the brains of the older rats were slower to respond to signs that a reward was available than those of younger rats. This was representative of the problems older brains can have recognizing cues to move on to another task when working. Dr. Laubach believes these findings may offer insight into how to help older, experienced workers remain safe and productive on the job. Dr. Laubach is an associate professor at the Yale School of Medicine and the recipient of a 2002 AFAR Research Grant. Marcelo S. Caetano, PhD, a postdoctoral associate at The John B. Pierce Laboratory, postdoctoral fellow at the Yale School of Medicine, and 2010 recipient of an Ellison Medical Foundation/AFAR Postdoctoral Fellowship, also contributed to the study.
