Our behavior throughout life is shaped by the way we interact with the world, which is in turn influenced by how we perceive our environment and express our thoughts and feelings through emotions. As we age, our experiences allow us to gather information, continuously refining our cognitive model of the world through learning processes in the brain. However, it remains unclear how variations in molecular and neural mechanisms, which differ across trajectories of healthy aging and cognitive decline, influence emotional expression and experience. This aspect of emotional and cognitive resilience is crucial for maintaining daily functioning, particularly in later life. Thus, it is essential to investigate these processes before or during the early stages of cognitive deterioration to understand how emotional regulation can be better preserved as we age. The rapidly growing elderly population and the rising prevalence of neurodegenerative disorders with behavioral disturbances highlight the urgent need for research in this area. The transdisciplinary research agenda outlined here seeks to integrate molecular, neural, and behavioral approaches to advance our understanding of emotional health in aging. By generating multi-modal evidence, we aim to uncover mechanisms that may promote, maintain, or restore emotional resilience in aging adults, potentially leading to novel therapeutic interventions.
Keywords:
Emotional Health, Neurodegeneration, Neural Mechanisms, cognitive decline, emotional resilience
Important Note:
All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
Our behavior throughout life is shaped by the way we interact with the world, which is in turn influenced by how we perceive our environment and express our thoughts and feelings through emotions. As we age, our experiences allow us to gather information, continuously refining our cognitive model of the world through learning processes in the brain. However, it remains unclear how variations in molecular and neural mechanisms, which differ across trajectories of healthy aging and cognitive decline, influence emotional expression and experience. This aspect of emotional and cognitive resilience is crucial for maintaining daily functioning, particularly in later life. Thus, it is essential to investigate these processes before or during the early stages of cognitive deterioration to understand how emotional regulation can be better preserved as we age. The rapidly growing elderly population and the rising prevalence of neurodegenerative disorders with behavioral disturbances highlight the urgent need for research in this area. The transdisciplinary research agenda outlined here seeks to integrate molecular, neural, and behavioral approaches to advance our understanding of emotional health in aging. By generating multi-modal evidence, we aim to uncover mechanisms that may promote, maintain, or restore emotional resilience in aging adults, potentially leading to novel therapeutic interventions.
Keywords:
Emotional Health, Neurodegeneration, Neural Mechanisms, cognitive decline, emotional resilience
Important Note:
All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.