Scientists at the Center for Vital Longevity are dedicated to solving the puzzle of Alzheimer’s Disease, and creating new solutions, through research, to optimize quality of life for both families and individuals affected by this disorder.
Founded in 2010 by Dr. Denise Park and currently led by Dr. Michael Rugg, the Center brings together an extraordinary group of research scientists who are using advanced brain-imaging technologies and research techniques in cognitive neuroscience to understand, maintain and improve the vitality of the aging mind. Cutting-edge research tools that allow them to see both pathology and compensation for that pathology in living brains afflicted with amyloid or tau deposits.
Center scientists are working to identify a neural signature in middle-aged adults that will help predict who will and will not age well cognitively and who might be at risk of Alzheimer’s disease long before symptoms appear. They are elucidating how memories are formed and retrieved and how these processes change with age. And they are investigating the effects of different types of mental stimulation on memory and cognition in young and older adults. The goal of these wide-ranging studies is to develop ways to maintain and even enhance the cognitive health and vitality of current and future generations.
The Center’s facilities, located in Dallas, Texas, include 30,000 square feet of research space including cognitive testing rooms and laboratories. In addition, investigators conduct functional and structural neuroimaging studies at facilities in the Advanced Imaging Research Center (AIRC), a collaborative enterprise between UT Dallas, UT Arlington, and UT Southwestern Medical Center, where the AIRC is located.