Grant: Project Grant

Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia and affects women more often than men. One of the earliest brain changes in Alzheimer's disease happens in a small region called the locus coeruleus, which helps control attention, memory, and the body's response to stress. This damage occurs decades before symptoms begin, but we still don't fully understand why it happens or how it affects other brain areas that are important for learning and memory. This research will explore how early life experiences, like stress or an enriched environment, interact with biological sex to influence brain's vulnerability to Alzheimer's disease. We will use a specialized rat model to study how early and late-life experiences affect behavior, brain health, and gene activity in males and females. We will also use advanced genetic tools to study changes in different brain cell types, including neurons and support cells, to find out why some individuals may be more vulnerable or more resilient to early Alzheimer's changes. By identifying how sex and life experience shape the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, this research will help us better understand why women are more affected, and how we might prevent or delay the disease through personalized strategies. These findings could guide future treatments and support early-life and lifestyle-based prevention strategies tailored to an individual's sex and life history.