Grant: Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

Canada's demographics are rapidly shifting with great implications for our healthcare system and economy. The potential role of modifiable lifestyle factors in combating age-related disease is under-investigated in the literature. This is surprising given an estimate that nearly half of all Alzheimer's cases are attributable to modifiable risk factors. Research suggests that lifestyle factors such as nutrition and physical activity can create a healthier brain by increasing neural growth factors, improving blood flow and moderating brain function. Together, these changes promote plasticity - helping the brain adapt to a changing biological environment. One method of investigating neuroplasticity in the aging human brain is through the use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). rTMS induces changes in cortical activation by means of a series of electromagnetic pulses to create periods of heightened brain plasticity in the area where it is administered. As a result, rTMS is increasingly used as an intervention to enhance functioning. Considering that lifestyle factors have been shown to contribute to brain plasticity naturally, our study asks whether these factors mediate the efficacy of neurostimulation in older adults. My doctoral research examines the role of lifestyle in contributing to rTMS-induced network changes in a group of healthy older adults. This is the first study to evaluate the role of modifiable factors in enhancing TMS-induced cortical plasticity. This study will advance our understanding of how lifestyle factors may play a role in promoting neuroplasticity, thereby enhancing future TMS interventions to combat various neurological disorders.