2003 Aberdeen Spring Meeting

There was a local flavour to the Cerebral Ageing SIG session at the BGS Spring Meeting in Aberdeen.

The theme was the effect of early life cognitive ability on outcomes in old age and drew on the unique data available from the Scottish Mental Survey of 1932 in which nearly all of the 87,500 children born in 1921 were given a validated intelligence test. The presenters reflected the multi-disciplinary membership of the SIG. Ian Deary, professor of psychology in Edinburgh, focussed on cognitive change and told us that 50% of cognitive ability in old age is explained by childhood ability. He outlined the likely factors that might contribute to the 50% that varies over the lifetime and focussed on the role of genes, especially for Apolipoprotein E. Lawrence Whalley, Professor of Mental Health at Aberdeen, took up this theme, looking at the role of homocysteine, folic acid an other micronutrients, as well as the influence of childhood mental ability on depression score and quality of life in old age.

Finally Alison Murray, senior lecturer in radiology in Aberdeen and an Aberdonian by birth, presented white matter and volumetric neuro-imaging data relating psychometric, socio-demographic and nutritional variables to underlying biological substrates identifiable on MRI.

The scientific programme was followed by a brief AGM in which the current SIG officers were re-elected and Dr Alasdair MacLullich, Lecturer in Geriatric Medicine at Edinburgh University, was elected as trainee representative.

Anybody interested in joining the group, please contact John Starr at John.Starr@ed.ac.uk.

John M Starr
Cerebral Ageing and Mental Health SIG Secretary