Brain Imaging During Critical Midlife Window Could Catch Cognitive Decline

Learn more about how identifying biomarkers through neuroimaging could prompt us to feed our brain to prevent neuronal starvation.

By Paul Smaglik
Mar 5, 2025 11:00 PMMar 21, 2025 4:45 PM
Doctors performing fMRI on patient
(Image Credit: Aleksandar Malivuk/Shutterstock)

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By the time we notice signs of cognitive decline due to aging, it’s often too late to effectively treat it. But taking a look at the brain during the “critical window” between the ages of 40 and 59 could provide a chance to prevent or slow conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study suggests that patients in that “window” undergo functional MRI (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG). Those imaging tests can reveal biomarkers associated with cognitive decline while still providing enough time for effective treatment.

An Insight into Neurodegeneration

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