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Benefits Of Expanding Training Programmes

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Recently, the EU funded a NeuroSKILL project with the aims of expanding training programmes in neuroimaging and to have a more accessible neuroimaging format. This research was based off the framework that in Ireland, 44,000 people are living with dementia and an additional 12,000 are in North Wales (The NeuroSKILL project, 2013). Postulating that, as the population ages these figures will rise. With the knowledge that in an aging society an increasing number of people are facing deficits associated with blood blow and the lack of, this study is a reanalysis based on the NeuroSKILL project focusing on the CBF, GABA and glutamate levels in the young and older resting brain.
These data affirm the impression of a consistent and balanced …show more content…

If this is the case, then comparing the two populations might not show a significant mean difference in CBF. Diseases that occur with age such as AD have reduced blood flow. However, it should not be expected that age itself correlates with blood flow, unless there are other determining factors. A future experiment could focus on whether GABA and glutamate levels are indicators of a person’s health. Research has suggested that atypical levels of the neurotransmitters have led to neurological disorders and decreased social behaviour, which provides beneficial evidence for future medical research.
The results of this study may have been different to others because of the methods used. For example, Zahr, Mayer, Pfefferbaum and Sullivan (2008) found evidence that age influences differing glutamate levels which ultimately leads to cognitive decline. This study used Positon Emission Tomography (PET) meaning that small movements would not affect the outcome of the images produced whereas movements affect the results of fMRI scans. This study also considered other variables which could affect glutamate levels such as genes, meaning that there could have been other factors which could affect neurotransmitter levels. This could have been focused on in the current experiment because it would give explanations as to why age had no effect on GABA or

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