TL;DR
Get workout gear delivered free — and shop member deals
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Access to Prime Big Deal Days deals on October 6–7
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
A UCLA study found that adults whose brain scans appeared older than their actual age tended to score lower on working-memory and executive-function tests and report more depressive symptoms. In one study group, a higher brain-aging score was also associated with particular gut bacteria and metabolic compounds; the findings do not show that gut changes cause brain aging.
A UCLA Health study of nearly 1,500 adults found that people whose brain scans suggested an older brain than their chronological age generally performed worse on tests of memory and executive function and reported more depressive symptoms. In one of the three groups studied, an older-appearing brain was also associated with specific gut bacteria and metabolic compounds, a finding that may help researchers investigate links between gut biology and brain health but does not establish that the gut causes brain aging.
The study, published in eBioMedicine, used resting brain scans to measure how different brain regions communicated with one another. Researchers trained a computer model to estimate participants’ ages from those patterns, then compared the estimates with their actual ages. The difference was called the Brain Aging Index (BAI): a higher score indicated a brain that appeared older relative to chronological age.
Across all three groups, higher BAI scores were generally associated with weaker performance on tests of working memory and executive function, abilities involved in holding information in mind, focusing, planning and organizing. Participants with higher scores also reported more symptoms of depression. The researchers said the patterns repeatedly involved brain regions linked to memory and self-referential thought.
Only one of the three groups provided stool samples for the gut analysis. Within that group, higher BAI scores were associated with particular gut bacteria and several metabolic byproducts, including certain fat molecules, a cholesterol-related compound and lower levels of the hormone estetrol. The study connected these signals to pathways involving immunity, blood-vessel function, brain-cell communication and cellular energy production. These are reported associations, not evidence that changing a person’s microbiome would change their brain-age score.
Why the Gut-Brain Link Matters
The findings add to research asking whether biological patterns associated with brain aging can be detected before a person develops noticeable memory or thinking problems. If later studies confirm the associations, measures involving the brain and gut might help researchers study risk earlier in life, rather than focusing only on older adults or people already diagnosed with neurological conditions.
For now, the study does not offer a clinical test or a treatment recommendation. A brain-age estimate is a research measure, and the reported gut associations came from just one study group. The results do not show that particular foods, supplements or attempts to alter gut bacteria can prevent cognitive decline. Their immediate value is in identifying questions and biological pathways for further study.
probiotic supplements for gut health
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
How Researchers Estimated Brain Age
Brain age is an estimate derived from features of the brain, not a person’s chronological age or a direct diagnosis. In this study, the model used communication patterns between brain areas while participants rested. A score above a person’s actual age meant the model judged the brain to look older by that measure; it did not establish that the person’s brain was aging faster over time.
Earlier research had linked older-appearing brains with memory, thinking and mood differences, but the UCLA report says much of that work centered on older adults or people with neurological conditions. The researchers examined three separate adult groups, totaling nearly 1,500 participants, and assessed whether the scan-based measure was associated with cognitive and mood measures across those groups. Stool samples were available for only one group, limiting the reach of the microbiome findings.
brain health supplements for memory
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
What the Associations Cannot Show
The study reports links, not cause and effect. It cannot establish whether gut bacteria or their metabolites influence brain aging, whether brain-related changes affect the gut, or whether other factors contribute to both. The report also does not provide evidence that the observed relationships predict an individual’s future cognitive or mood changes.
The gut findings came from one of the three groups, and the supplied report does not specify the size or demographic details of that subgroup, the identities of the bacteria, or the strength of each association. It also does not describe a long-term follow-up showing how participants’ brain-age estimates changed. Those limits mean the findings should not be treated as a diagnostic tool or as a basis for changing diet or taking supplements.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Research Needed Before Clinical Use
The next steps are for researchers to test whether the gut-related associations appear in other groups and to examine how brain-age estimates, cognitive measures and microbiome signals change over time. Further work would also need to distinguish the effects of specific microbes and metabolic compounds from other influences and determine whether the observed signals can predict meaningful outcomes.
Church said the findings may eventually help researchers identify people who could be at risk of cognitive or mood-related decline earlier in life and explore whether gut health can be a target for prevention research. No such screening or intervention is established by this study. For now, the immediate development is a set of associations that researchers can investigate, not a new clinical recommendation.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Key Questions
Does the study show that gut bacteria cause brain aging?
No. The researchers found associations between a brain-age measure and gut bacteria and metabolites in one group. The study does not show that gut changes cause an older-appearing brain or that altering the microbiome would change brain aging.
What does the Brain Aging Index measure?
Researchers compared a model’s age estimate, based on patterns of communication between brain regions in resting scans, with each participant’s chronological age. The difference was called the Brain Aging Index; a higher score indicated that the brain appeared older by the model’s measure.
What outcomes were associated with a higher score?
Across the three groups, higher scores were generally linked with lower performance on working-memory and executive-function tests and more reported symptoms of depression. These are group-level associations, not a diagnosis or a prediction for any particular person.
Can a stool test show how fast someone’s brain is aging?
The study does not establish a stool test for brain aging. The microbiome analysis was conducted in one study group, and the report does not show that the findings can diagnose or predict brain aging in individuals.
Source: rss
Halloween Picks
halloween
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
