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Researchers Release Dallas Lifespan Brain Study Dataset to Illuminate Cognitive Aging

The open repository empowers global researchers to study individualized brain aging trajectories, opening new avenues for Alzheimer’s disease research.

Overview

  • The DLBS collected neuroimaging and cognitive data from 464 adults aged 21 to 89 at three intervals over ten years, yielding a rich longitudinal resource for brain aging studies.
  • Funded by a National Institute on Aging MERIT Award, the study prioritized sustained data collection without early publication pressures and maintained high participant retention across three waves.
  • Recent DLBS findings reveal progressive breakdown of brain networks throughout adulthood and unexpectedly high amyloid protein levels in cognitively healthy individuals.
  • The latest data wave incorporates tau imaging, supporting evidence that amyloid accumulation can precipitate tau tangles associated with Alzheimer’s pathology.
  • The publicly available dataset includes MRI and PET scans, neuropsychological assessments and health surveys to facilitate personalized analyses of aging trajectories.