Sunway University's AGEWELL Team Publishes Groundbreaking Research on Aging in Top Journal
The Department of Psychology and School of Medical and Life Sciences is proud to share the work of the AGEWELL team at Sunway University who have published their work on aging neuroscience in a top 1% journal, Nature’s npj Aging.
In a little over a year, the team collected neuroimaging (magnetic resonance imaging), cognitive, and interview data from a sizeable sample of 400 senior citizens from diverse socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds in Klang Valley. This unique cohort is the first of its kind in the region. They found, for the first time, that older Malaysians who are slow to make decisions when instructed to on a simple game also show uniquely ‘older-appearing’ brains. The study suggests this tendency for slow decision-making could be used as a biomarker for ‘pathological brain ageing’ and could be adopted in Malaysian clinics alongside routine tests for common brain diseases in older people, like Alzheimer’s disease.
They also found, above other factors, older people who experienced more socioeconomic disadvantage across their life (i.e., in income, in education, in housing, and in career opportunities) also showed worse cognitive abilities in older age. This was seen regardless of race or gender. The study serves as a powerful reminder for how socioeconomic disparities shape our brain health over a lifetime.
We would like to extend our congratulations for all members of the team from Sunway University and beyond who directly contributed to this important study: Dr Aleya A Marzuki, Wong Kean Yung, Dr Chan Jee Kei, Sze Yie N., Arjun Thanaraju, Paveen Phon-Amnuaisuk, Dr Samira Vafa, Yap Jie (Zacchary), Lim Wei Gene, Annette Shamala Arokiaraj, Dexter Shee, Louisa Lee Gee Ling, Professor Datin Dr Chia Yook Chin, Dr Michael Jenkins, and Professor Alexandre Schaefer.
The team would also like to thank all student interns who supported data collection and the participants who kindly dedicated precious time and energy to completing this study.
