NeuroTrax Science Team and Glen M. Doniger, PhD
The linkage between brain health and cellular processes is becoming increasingly clear. While cognitive performance has traditionally been assessed with behavioral testing, emerging research shows how underlying cellular processes like telomere dynamics play a critical role in shaping brain function over time. This body of research points to a more integrated view of cognitive health. Brain function is not only influenced by neurological or psychological factors, but also by the underlying biological systems that support cellular integrity and resilience.
Telomeres, the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes, are widely recognized as markers of biological aging. As cells divide, telomeres naturally shorten, and accelerated shortening has been linked to a range of age-related conditions. It is becoming apparent that these cellular processes may be specifically tied to cognitive health.
A longitudinal study by Cohen-Manheim and colleagues provides one of the clearest links between telomere dynamics and cognition. The researchers tracked leukocyte telomere length in nearly 500 healthy individuals over more than a decade, measuring changes in early adulthood and then assessing cognitive performance in midlife using NeuroTrax as a standardized digital neuromarker (1). Their findings showed that individuals with faster telomere attrition in young adulthood performed significantly poorer in global cognition and multiple cognitive domains later in life, including memory, information processing speed, and visual-spatial function.
These findings represent a shift in our understanding of cognitive aging. Rather than viewing cognitive decline as emerging later in life, the study suggests that its cellular foundations may be laid decades earlier. Telomere attrition, in this context, may represent one of the earliest measurable markers of future cognitive health (1).
In addition to telomeres, other biological markers are tied to cognitive outcomes. For example, related research has shown that increased systemic inflammation, measured by biomarkers like GlycA, are associated with poorer cognitive performance and slower processing speed in midlife (2). Similarly, lipid profiles and apolipoprotein levels in early adulthood have been shown to predict cognitive decline on NeuroTrax neurometrics nearly two decades later (3). Taken together, these findings reinforce the idea that cognitive health is closely tied to physiological processes.
Critically, interventions targeting biological markers may improve cognitive function. A recent hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) case report demonstrated that changes in cellular health, including increased telomere length, were accompanied by gains in multiple cognitive domains captured by NeuroTrax (4). Further research is needed, but these findings suggest that targeting biological aging processes may have a direct and measurable impact on brain efficiency.
Insights into biological processes become actionable when paired with objective neurometrics. NeuroTrax serves as a digital neuromarker, providing standardized, high-resolution data that quantifies brain efficiency. This allows researchers and clinicians to translate cellular-level changes into measurable cognitive outcomes, bridging the gap between laboratory biomarkers and real-world brain performance. By combining biological markers like telomere dynamics with NeuroTrax, brain health can be monitored proactively across the lifespan. Rather than waiting for symptoms to emerge, early changes in cellular aging may offer a window into cognitive risk and facilitate earlier intervention.
References:
[1] Cohen-Manheim, I., Doniger, G.M., Sinnreich, R., Simon, E.S., Pinchas, R., Aviv, A., and Kark, J.D. (2016). Increased attrition of leukocyte telomere length in young adults is associated with poorer cognitive function in midlife. European Journal of Epidemiology, 31, 147–157. DOI: 10.1007/s10654-015-0051-4
[2] Cohen-Manheim, I., Doniger, G.M., Sinnreich, R., Simon, E.S., Pinchas-Mizrach, R., Otvos, J.D., and Kark, J.D. (2015). Increase in the inflammatory marker GlycA over 13 years in young adults is associated with poorer cognitive function in midlife. PLoS ONE, 10(9):e0138036. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0138036
[3] Lutski, M., Weinstein, G., Goldbourt, U., and Tanne, D. (2019). Plasma lipids, apolipoproteins, and subsequent cognitive decline in men with coronary heart disease. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 67(3), 827–837. DOI: 10.3233/JAD-180849
[4] Maroon, J C. (2022). The effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on cognition, performance, proteomics, and telomere length—The difference between zero and one: A case report. Frontiers in Neurology, 13:949536. DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2022.949536
