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PERSPECTIVE article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Neuropsychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1542880

Cortical Excitability as a Biomarker of Cognitive Resilience in Aging

Provisionally accepted
Sara Palermo Sara Palermo 1,2Chiara Di Fazio Chiara Di Fazio 1,3*Eugenio Scaliti Eugenio Scaliti 4,5Mario Stanziano Mario Stanziano 2,6Anna Nigri Anna Nigri 2Marco Tamietto Marco Tamietto 1,7
  • 1 Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
  • 2 Neuroradiology Unit, Diagnostic and Technology Department, Fondazione Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS) Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Lombardy, Italy
  • 3 International School of Advanced Studies, University of Camerino, Camerino, Marche, Italy
  • 4 Human Science and Technologies, University of Turin, Turin, Piedmont, Italy
  • 5 Department of Management “Valter Cantino”, University of Turin, Turin, Piedmont, Italy
  • 6 Department of Neuroscience Rita Levi Montalcini, University of Turin, Turin, Piedmont, Italy
  • 7 Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Tilburg University, Tilburg, Netherlands

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This perspective article addresses the potential use of cortical excitability (CE) as an indicator of cognitive health in aging people. Changes in CE may be considered a sign of resilience to cognitive decline in old age. The authors describe research on CE and its link to cognitive function in older adults and emphasize that it is a promising, non-invasive measure of healthy aging. They also address the current challenges in its implementation, the need for standardized measurement protocols and possible future avenues of research. If properly considered, CE could pave the way for early detection of cognitive decline and facilitate targeted interventions to promote cognitive resilience.

    Keywords: Brain health, cortical excitability, Cognitive resilience, aging brain, Hebbian plasticity, NIBS (Non-invasive Brain Stimulation

    Received: 10 Dec 2024; Accepted: 03 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Palermo, Di Fazio, Scaliti, Stanziano, Nigri and Tamietto. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Chiara Di Fazio, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.