What Happens to Your Brain as You Age? | Prof. Bogdan Draganski

What if brain aging is not as inevitable as we think? Can we protect our brains from dementia? And could simple changes in midlife give us more years of healthy cognitive function?
In this episode we speak with Prof. Bogdan Draganski, a neurologist and neuroscientist based in Switzerland, about the fascinating science of brain aging, neurodegeneration, and brain plasticity.
We explore what actually happens to our brains as we get older, why Alzheimer's pathology can begin decades before the first symptoms, and how advanced MRI techniques allow scientists to investigate changes in brain structure, myelin, iron, and vascular health.
We also discuss some surprising discoveries: how learning to juggle can change brain structure, why the motor cortex may be particularly vulnerable to aging, how the brain adapts after injury, and what electroconvulsive therapy can teach us about brain plasticity.
One particularly striking part of our conversation concerns research linking three modifiable risk factors, high blood pressure, diabetes, and smoking, to the timing of dementia.
In this episode, we discuss:
🧠 What is normal brain aging, and does it really exist?
🔬 How can Alzheimer's pathology develop 20 years before symptoms?
🧬 What can MRI reveal about myelin, iron, and neurodegeneration?
🤹 How does learning physically change the brain?
⚡ What can electroconvulsive therapy teach us about brain plasticity?
❤️ How do blood pressure, diabetes, and smoking influence dementia risk?
🌳 How do air pollution, green spaces, and our social environment influence brain health?
💡 What can we do to protect our cognitive abilities as we age?
Prof. Draganski brings together perspectives from clinical neurology, neuroscience, brain imaging, and public health to explore one of the biggest questions in modern medicine: how can we maintain a healthy brain throughout life?
If you enjoy in-depth scientific conversations, subscribe to the channel and share your thoughts in the comments.
Neuroscience and Beyond Team:
Kristina Jevdokimenko
Laura van Agen
Svilen Georgiev
Supported by the International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences in#Göttingen (youtube.com/hashtag/g%C3%B6ttingen), the European Neuroscience Institute, Cluster of Excellence Multiscale Bioimaging, as well as SFB1286
#Neuroscience #BrainAging #BrainHealth #Alzheimers #DementiaPrevention