In this compendium episode, we review some of the best information and research that we’ve shared on the six pillars of brain health. With excerpts highlighting the importance of physical activity, diet, sleep, social engagement and more, our six guests show that there are numerous evidence-based lifestyle interventions that a person can incorporate into their daily lives to improve their brain health and delay the onset of or reduce their risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Learn more about the 2024 Fall Community Conversation: The Impact of Social Connections on Brain Health and register to attend in person on our website.

Learn more about exercise and physical activity at 2:57 or by listening to the episode, “Building the Brain: Finding the Cognitive Benefits of Physical Activity,” on our website.

Learn more about the MIND diet at 8:58 or by listening to the episode, “MIND Diet for Healthy Brain Aging,” on our website.

Learn more about the importance of sleep at 14:28 or by listening to the episode, “The Importance of Sleep for a Healthy Life,” on our website.

Learn more about mindfulness as a practice for managing stress at 21:22 or by listening to the episode, “Mindfulness: What Is It, What Are the Benefits, Where to Begin,” on our website.

Learn more about cognitive engagement at 28:10 or by listening to the episode, “Exercise Your Mind: Cognitively Stimulating Activities and Social Engagement,” on our website.

Learn more about social isolation and engagement at 34:44 or by listening to the episode, “The Impact of Social Isolation on Dementia Risk in Older Adults,” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and on our website.

Find more information about the six pillars of brain health and other prevention strategies on our website.

Find transcripts and more at our website.

Email Dementia Matters: [email protected]

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Subscribe to the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s e-newsletter.

Enjoy Dementia Matters? Consider making a gift to the Dementia Matters fund through the UW Initiative to End Alzheimer’s. All donations go toward outreach and production.

While genetics and lifestyle can influence one’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, other unexpected factors can shift the possibility. One of these factors is personality. Dr. Emorie Beck joins Dementia Matters to share her research on the link between personality and Alzheimer’s risk. Dr. Beck breaks down the Big Five traits that make up someone’s personality and their effects on a person’s cognitive health. 

Guest: Emorie Beck, PhD, assistant professor, University of California, Davis

Read Dr. Beck’s study, “Personality predictors of dementia diagnosis and neuropathological burden: An individual participant data meta-analysis,” through the Alzheimer’s Association Journals website.

Learn more about Dr. Beck on her profile on the UC–Davis website.

Learn more about social isolation by listening to our episode, “The Impact of Social Isolation on Dementia Risk in Older Adults,” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and on our website.

Find out your personality type by taking the FiveThirtyEight Personality Quiz

Test your cognitive ability and participate in studies similar to Dr. Beck’s on TestMyBrain.org 

Find transcripts and more at our website.

Email Dementia Matters: [email protected]

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Subscribe to the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s e-newsletter.

Enjoy Dementia Matters? Consider making a gift to the Dementia Matters fund through the UW Initiative to End Alzheimer’s. All donations go toward outreach and production.

Dementia Matters Special Series: Voices of Research Participants

When Ms. Carol Turner found out her family had a history of Alzheimer’s disease, she wanted to know how she could help herself and others with similar experiences. After learning about the AHEAD Study, which is testing a treatment that could delay memory loss before Alzheimer’s symptoms appear, she signed up to participate in this ground-breaking research. Ms. Turner joins the final episode in our Voices of Research Participants series to discuss her journey as a research participant, how she became an advocate for others in her community and the power of representation in clinical trials.

Guest: Ms. Carol Turner, AHEAD Study participant

Co-host: Sarah Walter, MSc, program administrator, Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium (ACTC) and Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI)

Listen to the rest of the Voices of Research Participants series, “From Caregiver to Research Participant: How One Woman’s Experience as a Dementia Caregiver Drew Her to Alzheimer’s Research,” “Living with Lewy Body: A Neurologist’s Journey Through Research and Dementia Care,” and “Advocating for All: The Impact of Community and Equity in Dementia Research” on our website and all podcast platforms.

Watch “Voices from the AHEAD Alzheimer's Disease Trial” featuring Cynthia Carlsson, MD, MS on the UW Clinical Trials Institute YouTube.

Learn more about the AHEAD Study on their website.

Learn more about Sarah Walter in her bio on the Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium website.

Find resources for people with dementia and their care partners on our website.

Find transcripts and more at our website.

Email Dementia Matters: [email protected]

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s e-newsletter.

Enjoy Dementia Matters? Consider making a gift to the Dementia Matters fund through the UW Initiative to End Alzheimer’s. All donations go toward outreach and production.

On this episode of Dementia Matters, Dr. Scott Roberts talks about disclosing genetic test results for APOE, a gene that can increase one’s likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease. While this information can be concerning, Dr. Roberts shares that it can empower individuals to take the necessary precautions to lower their risk of developing the disease. He discusses the Risk Evaluation and Education for Alzheimer’s Disease (REVEAL) study, walks us through the APOE disclosure process and shares how it is evolving with the development of new Alzheimer’s treatments.

Guest: Scott Roberts, PhD, interim chair, professor of health behavior & health education, University of Michigan School of Public Health

Read Dr. Roberts’ article, “Genetic risk assessment for adult children of people with Alzheimer's disease: the Risk Evaluation and Education for Alzheimer's Disease (REVEAL) study,” on the SageJournals website.

Decide if you’re a fit forAPOE testing using Virginia Tech’s ‘Gene Test or Not?’ decision aid tool, mentioned at 17:00 in the episode.

Learn more about Dr. Roberts on his University of Michigan profile.

Learn more about APOE by listening to our episode, “DNA Is Not Your Destiny: Genetics and Alzheimer’s Disease Risk,” with Dr. Corinne Engelman on our website.

Read “WRAP data used in study finding a distinct, genetic form of Alzheimer’s disease” on the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute (WAI) website.

Find transcripts and more at our website.

Email Dementia Matters: [email protected]

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s e-newsletter.

Enjoy Dementia Matters? Consider making a gift to the Dementia Matters fund through the UW Initiative to End Alzheimer’s. All donations go toward outreach and production.

Dementia Matters Special Series: Voices of Research Participants

What do you do when dementia symptoms begin to upend your entire life? For Brother John-Richard Pagan, the answer was to persist in finding a diagnosis and a supportive community that aligned with his values. In this episode of our Voices of Research Participants series with co-host Sarah Walter, MSc, Br John-Richard describes how he went from a PhD student to a dementia research participant and his journey getting diagnosed with Lewy body dementia (LBD). Br John-Richard also discusses how his background in clinical psychology influenced his participation in research and his advocacy for disabled, LGBTQ+ and other marginalized community members in medical research.

Guest: Br John-Richard Pagan, MS, veteran, monastic, Episcopal Ecumenical Community, advocate, Lewy Body Dementia Association (LBDA)

Co-host: Sarah Walter, MSc, program administrator, Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium (ACTC) and Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI)

Listen to the first episode of the Voices of Research Participants series, “From Caregiver to Research Participant: How One Woman’s Experience as a Dementia Caregiver Drew Her to Alzheimer’s Research,” and “Living with Lewy Body: A Neurologist’s Journey Through Research and Dementia Care,” on our website and all podcast platforms.

Learn more about AGREEDementia and the Participants’ Bill of Rights, mentioned at 17:10 and 30:12, on their website.

Learn more about the Dementia Action Alliance on their website.

Find support and resources from the Lewy Body Dementia Association on their website.

Learn more about Sarah Walter in her bio on the Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium website.

Learn more about how to get a dementia diagnosis on our website.

Find resources for people with dementia and their care partners on our website.

Find transcripts and more at our website.

Email Dementia Matters: [email protected]

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s e-newsletter.

Enjoy Dementia Matters? Consider making a gift to the Dementia Matters fund through the UW Initiative to End Alzheimer’s. All donations go toward outreach and production.

When it comes to dementia diagnoses, the earlier, the better, but why is it difficult to detect dementia in its early stages? Moreover, what strategies can be used to improve dementia detection? Dr. Josh Chodosh joins the podcast to answer these questions and discuss how public health initiatives could improve dementia diagnoses. He also talks about his work with the Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Center, a public health center focused on early detection and ending the stigma around dementia.

Guest: Joshua Chodosh, MD, director, division of geriatric medicine and palliative care, Michael L. Freedman professor of geriatric research, Grossman School of Medicine, New York University, staff physician, VA Harbor Healthcare System

Learn more about the Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Public Health Center of Excellence on Early Detection of Dementia on their website.

Learn more about the Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs) in Wisconsin and across the country.

Learn more about Dr. Chodosh on his NYU Langone Health bio.

Learn more about how to get a dementia diagnosis on our website.

Learn how to get a free virtual memory screening through the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) on their website.

Find transcripts and more at our website.

Email Dementia Matters: [email protected]

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s e-newsletter.

Enjoy Dementia Matters? Consider making a gift to the Dementia Matters fund through the UW Initiative to End Alzheimer’s. All donations go toward outreach and production.

Picture this: you are supporting someone experiencing memory changes as a clinician, support person or care partner while they go through the memory clinic process. How do you navigate the challenging conversations surrounding symptoms, diagnoses, care plans and more that come up? Dr. Toby Campbell joins the podcast to discuss the importance of shared decision-making and share strategies for clinicians, care partners and loved ones to help navigate these important conversations with respect and empathy.

Guest: Toby Campbell, MD, MS, thoracic medical oncologist, chief of palliative care, UW Health, professor of hematology, medical oncology and palliative care, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

Are you a clinician interested in receiving continuing education (CE) credits for listening to this episode? Find credit designation information, disclosures and evaluation information on our website and on the UW–Madison Interprofessional Continuing Education Partnership (ICEP) website. The accreditation for this course expires 5/13/2025. After this date, you will no longer be able to access the course or claim credit.

Learn more about the SPIKES strategy, mentioned at 20:48, by reading “Breaking bad news: the S-P-I-K-E-S strategy” for free online.

Read Dr. Campbell’s article, “Discussing Prognosis and Shared Decision-Making,” mentioned at 27:55 on ScienceDirect’s website.

Read Dr. Campbell’s article, “Discussing prognosis: balancing hope and realism,” mentioned at 31:20 on The Cancer Journal’s website.

Learn more about PalliTALK and WeTALK on the University of Wisconsin Department of Medicine website.

Learn more about Dr. Campbell through his profile on the University of Wisconsin Department of Medicine website.

Find Wisconsin-based and online resources for people with dementia and care partners on our website.

Find transcripts and more at our website.

Email Dementia Matters: [email protected]

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s e-newsletter.

Enjoy Dementia Matters? Consider making a gift to the Dementia Matters fund through the UW Initiative to End Alzheimer’s. All donations go toward outreach and production.

Advances in Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials are accelerating rapidly, leading to new insights and disease-modifying therapies, but how does the field continue bolstering that momentum? For Dr. Rema Raman, it’s through improving inclusivity and training for early-career researchers. Recorded at the 2024 Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Dementias Research Day, Dr. Raman joins the podcast to discuss her work in research recruitment and retention, the importance of training the next generation of clinical trialists in dementia research with the IMPACT-AD program and more from her featured presentation.

Guest: Rema Raman, PhD, co-director, Institute of Methods and Protocols for Advancement of Clinical Trials in ADRD (IMPACT-AD), director, section of biostatistics, section of participant recruitment & retention section, Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute, professor of neurology, University of Southern California

Watch our YouTube page for upcoming recordings of Dr. Raman’s presentation and other featured speakers at Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Dementias Research Day 2024.

Learn more about Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Dementias Research Day on our website.

Learn more about the Institute of Methods and Protocols for Advancement of Clinical Trials in ADRD (IMPACT-AD) on their website.

Learn more about Dr. Raman at her bio on the Keck School of Medicine website.

Find transcripts and more at our website.

Email Dementia Matters: [email protected]

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s e-newsletter.

Enjoy Dementia Matters? Consider making a gift to the Dementia Matters fund through the UW Initiative to End Alzheimer’s. All donations go toward outreach and production.

What do you do if you have a family history of dementia and are experiencing symptoms, but can’t get a diagnosis? Dr. Sara Langer has dealt with just that. In the latest episode of our Voices of Research Participants series, Dr. Langer shares the obstacles she endured to receive her diagnosis of Lewy body dementia (LBD), how her background as a neurologist influenced her search for clinical care and how she turned to dementia research to find answers. She also discusses ways that the field of dementia research could improve to support those with other forms of dementia outside of Alzheimer’s disease.

Guest: Sara Langer, MD, neurologist

Co-host: Sarah Walter, MSc, program administrator, Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium (ACTC) and Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI)

Learn more about Sarah Walter at her bio on the Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium website.

Listen to the first episode of the Voices of Research Participants series, “From Caregiver to Research Participant: How One Woman’s Experience as a Dementia Caregiver Drew Her to Alzheimer’s Research,” on our website, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and all podcast platforms.

Learn more about Lewy body dementia by watching the 2021 Dr. Daniel I. Kaufer Lecture, “Diagnosis and Management of Dementia with Lewy Bodies,” on our YouTube page.

Learn more about how to get a dementia diagnosis on our website.

Find transcripts and more at our website.

Email Dementia Matters: [email protected]

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s e-newsletter.

Enjoy Dementia Matters? Consider making a gift to the Dementia Matters fund through the UW Initiative to End Alzheimer’s. All donations go toward outreach and production.

The brain is the most complex part of the human body, controlling thought, memory, emotion, motor skills, sensory input and all the processes that regulate our bodies. How exactly does it work, and how are clinicians able to determine whether brain changes are a result of normal aging, Alzheimer’s disease, or something else? Dr. Victoria Williams joins the podcast to explain important concepts in neuropsychology, from the difference between cognition and intelligence to how memories are made, and discuss how cognitive tests work in memory clinics.

Guest: Victoria Williams, PhD, neuropsychologist, UW Health, assistant professor, Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

Are you a clinician interested in receiving continuing education (CE) credits for listening to this episode? Find credit designation information, disclosures and evaluation information on our website and on the UW–Madison Interprofessional Continuing Education Partnership (ICEP) website. The accreditation for this course expires 3/25/2025. After this date, you will no longer be able to access the course or claim credit.

Learn more about the domains and structure of the brain through the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) website.

Learn more about Dr. Williams at her bio on the University of Wisconsin Department of Medicine website.

Find transcripts and more at our website.

Email Dementia Matters: [email protected]

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s e-newsletter.

Enjoy Dementia Matters? Consider making a gift to the Dementia Matters fund through the UW Initiative to End Alzheimer’s. All donations go toward outreach and production.