Joshua D. Grill, PhDDirector, UCI MIND; Professor, Psychiatry and Human Behavior and Neurobiology and Behaviorphoto: Steve Zylius/UCI Dr. Joshua Grill, Director of UCI MIND is named one of Orange County’s 125 most influential people for 2023 by the Orange County Register! Read article here

UCI MIND faculty members, Drs. Mark Mapstone and Mark Fisher were recently quoted in a recent Rolling Stone article on the political divide between younger voters and aging legislators. Check it out here

Some people in their 80s and 90s show shockingly little decline in their brainpower. Scientists are beginning to understand what makes them different and how the rest of us might benefit Mark Ross Studio / Getty You can find Vernon Smith hard at work at his computer by 7:30 each morning, cranking out 10 solid hours of writing and researching every day. His job is incredibly demanding — he is currently on the faculty of both the business and law schools at Chapman University. But the hard work pays off: Smith’s research is consistently ranked as the most-cited work produced…

More than 6 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, and the CDC expects that number to double in the next three decades. Photo by: Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP The first drug fully approved by the FDA for Alzheimer’s has been on the market for 10 months. Now, researchers are looking at testing it to prevent Alzheimer's. A shot that could one day prevent Alzheimer's disease — that’s the potential future for lecanemab, or Leqembi. Researchers are studying to see if the drug can prevent the disease. "We hope make breakthroughs in discoveries that change our ability to help people in their…

On Friday October 13, 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a formal change to their coverage policy for amyloid PET imaging. Previously, with limited exceptions, patients were required to be enrolled in a clinical study known as “Coverage with Evidence Determination” for the scan to be reimbursed. Now, that requirement has been removed and the door has been opened for more patients to get the scan and result in savings of thousands of dollars for patients and their families. In fact, patients may have the opportunity to receive multiple covered scans as part of their routine care…

Most Americans favor an age limit for the president and other politicians. But some ethicists and scientists argue that’s ageist and scientifically unsound. Photos via Wikimedia Commons (left: Joint Congressional Committee; right: Gage Skidmore) Barring a considerable shift in the political winds, the next US president will be either 82 or 78 years old on Inauguration Day. Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who twice froze in front of cameras and was unable to speak for several agonizing moments, is 81. His Democratic counterpart, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, is a comparative spring chicken at 72. Senator Dianne Feinstein died last month…

iStock Neurologist Dr. Claudia Kawas has been tracking the habits of the “oldest old,” those older than 90, in Southern California since 2003, as part of a study at the University of California, Irvine. She and a team of researchers have found links between longevity and even short amounts of exercise, social activities such as going to church, and modest caffeine and alcohol intake. Read the article here.

Hispanic people are 1.5 times more likely to develop Alzheimer's. ‘Our America: Unforgettable’The documentary special, produced by ABC Owned Television Stations in partnership with ABC News, takes a looks at alarming data on Alzheimer’s disease through a Hispanic and Latino lens. Nearly 7 million Americans live with Alzheimer's disease, an irreversible and devastating form of dementia that gradually breaks down memory and thinking skills. But not everyone is equally at risk. Hispanic people are 1.5 times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than white people, according to data from the Alzheimer's Association. "Our America: Unforgettable" is an hour-long special produced by ABC Owned…

This summer, UC Irvine was again one of only 10 universities in the U.S. to host a free six-week program to train undergraduate students in the fundamentals of biostatistics, data science and computing. For the second year in a row, the Irvine Summer Institute in Biostatistics and Undergraduate Data Science (ISI-BUDS) brought students to UCI from across the nation and, as part of the training, offered hands-on experience conducting cutting-edge biomedical research. The ISI-BUDS Program Of the more than 150 applicants, 15 students were selected for the highly competitive program, which includes up to $500 in travel expenses, free housing,…

Whatever keeps the community up at night – or makes them pull the covers over their head to not face the day – probably won’t surface for years to come, but Dr. Karen Lincoln sees where it starts in the early stages through brain imaging. In and of itself, she said it’s not so much about sleep, but rather why advanced aging disproportionately impacts the Black community. Two of her landmark studies, Sleep Tight and Express Yourself, show how and why everyday discrimination and microaggressions are taking a dramatic toll on health. Earlier this year, Dr. Lincoln joined UCI faculty…