Eastern Mediterranean University: Lara Alagöz and Her Insights

Hello! I'm Lara Alagöz, a final-year psychology student at Eastern Mediterranean University with a huge curiosity about the mysteries of the human brain. I've spent the past years diving deep into psychological theories and research methods but it's the intersection of mind and brain that truly captivates me. My academic journey has led me toward neuroscience and neuropsychology, where I hope to pursue graduate studies next year. I'm particularly fascinated by neuroplasticity and how our brains adapt and rewire themselves throughout our lives. My dream is to contribute to research that bridges the gap between neuroscience and clinical practice, potentially working with patients recovering from brain injuries or exploring innovative therapies for neurodegenerative disorders.

Reviewed Article: Neural Evidence of Functional Compensation for Fluid Intelligence in Healthy Ageing by Knights, E., Henson, R. N., Morcom, A. M., Mitchell, D. J., & Tsvetanov, K. A

Main Argument & Findings:

This study challenged one of the biggest debates in neuroscience, do our brains actually compensate for age-related decline, or do they just become less efficient? Using advanced brain imaging techniques on 223 adults aged 19-87, researchers had participants solve visual puzzles (think pattern recognition tasks) while scanning their brains. Here's the game-changer, they found that older adults who performed well on these tasks weren't just working harder, they were recruiting an entirely different brain region, the cuneus (associated with visual attention), to maintain their cognitive performance.

What makes this evidence so compelling is that the researchers used both traditional brain activity analysis and advanced multivariate decoding to prove this region was providing genuinely new, useful information, not just neural noise. The study demonstrates that age-related brain "hyperactivation" actually carries additional task-relevant information, providing concrete evidence that our brains can indeed compensate for aging.

Importance for Youth:

This research should be a wake-up call for our generation. We’re missing the bigger picture, the cognitive habits we build now are laying the foundation for how our brains will age. The study shows that successful cognitive aging isn't just about avoiding decline, it's about building neural flexibility and reserve.

Think about it, the participants who showed successful compensation weren't just lucky, they likely developed rich visual processing skills and attention strategies throughout their lives. This means every time we engage in complex visual tasks, learn new skills, or challenge our pattern recognition abilities, we might be building the neural infrastructure that could help us maintain cognitive function decades from now.

For those of us considering healthcare careers, this research also highlights the critical need for early intervention strategies and personalized approaches to cognitive health.

What I Learned: 

This study taught me that brain aging isn't the inevitable decline I once imagined. The concept of "neural compensation" revealed that our brains are incredibly adaptive problem-solvers, capable of rewiring themselves to maintain function even as certain regions become less efficient. The cuneus region was essentially recruited as backup processing power for complex reasoning tasks.

What struck me most was the methodological rigor required to prove this compensation actually works. The researchers had to control for vascular changes, validate their tasks, and use sophisticated statistical methods to distinguish between helpful compensation and inefficient processing. This level of scientific scrutiny reminds me why evidence-based approaches are crucial in neuroscience, especially when studying something as complex as healthy brain aging.

This research reinforces why investing in brain health early matters, not just for preventing disease, but for building the cognitive resilience that could make all the difference in how we experience our later years.

Citations: Knights, E., Henson, R. N., Morcom, A. M., Mitchell, D. J., & Tsvetanov, K. A. (2024). Neural evidence of functional compensation for fluid intelligence in healthy ageing. eLife, 13, e93327. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.93327.1

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/laraalagöz