Tracking our brains and our gains

We are at the dawn of a digital healthcare revolution. The tsunami of physiological and behavioural data that now can be collected from smartphones, smartwatches, smartrings, fitness trackers and a rapidly growing array of wearable devices—coupled with the latest advances in artificial intelligence & machine learning (AI/ML)—will change the face of routine healthcare as we know it. Are we ready to embrace this technology?

To make memories, brain cells must communicate through a junction called the synapse. In Alzheimer’s Disease, synapses disappear, causing problems making memories. It has long been thought that synapse loss stems from accumulation of a toxic protein called amyloid. We’ve recently realized there are a significant number of people with a lot of amyloid in their brains who have no memory loss or outward signs of Alzheimer’s Disease. We call these people resilient, and we’re investigating what protects their synapses, and whether we can design drugs that help to boost resilience in other people.