CCN Forum: Cognitive resilience among diverse older adults.

There is great heterogeneity in cognitive trajectories among older adults. Even individuals with similar levels of brain pathology (measured in vivo or post-mortem) differ substantially in their rates of late-life cognitive decline. I will present studies on putative risk (e.g., depression) and protective (e.g., educational, bilingualism) factors and introduce a resilience framework for investigating the complex interplay between demographics, psychosocial experiences, and markers of neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular pathology. A primary aim of this work is to advance novel approaches to probe mechanisms of racial/ethnic disparities in Alzheimer’s disease.