Tommy Wood

With an aging population and an environment that seems to actively work against our cognitive and physical health, the burden of dementia and cognitive decline are expected to triple by 2040. At the same time, decades of science investigating the biochemical and pathological processes that drive dementia have little to show for themselves and are increasingly coming into question. Despite this, it appears that the majority of dementia should be preventable if we’re able to fully understand the factors that contribute to long-term cognitive function. Drawing largely from comparisons to what we know about enhancing fitness and preventing physical decline, this talk will discuss the potential for cognitive enhancement and dementia prevention. Modifiable factors that affect cognitive function will be described as well as a proposed systems-based model of how those factors interact to influence an individual’s cognitive trajectory. This will provide a framework to define critical open questions that we need to answer about cognitive enhancement and cognitive decline, as well as the stakes if we don’t.