Novel Artificial Intelligence (AI) Decodes Aging Neurons

Can brain activity predict Alzheimer’s disease? One of the best tools for detecting Alzheimer’s disease requires a lumbar puncture, but doctors usually avoid the “spinal tap” because of the invasiveness of the procedure and the potential for complications. With the help of cutting-edge AI, Drs. Andrew Holbrook and Theodore Zwang imagine a future in which physicians use non-invasive brain activity recording tools such as an electroencephalogram (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to detect early signs of Alzheimer’s. In order to make their dream a reality, they are designing and training new AI models using long-term brain activity data from healthy mice and mice that display the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. These AI models generate their own representations of Alzheimer’s brain activity to help doctors visualize Alzheimer’s disease and predict its trajectory through time. Drs. Holbrook and Zwang are both considered “early career” faculty researchers. This means that they are both in the challenging stage of their careers in which they leave the nest of their former academic advisors and establish themselves as independent scientists. By providing funding at this crucial career stage, the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund is helping ensure a robust future for Alzheimer’s disease research. Furthermore, funding for this project will also support other early career scientists who work directly with Dr. Holbrook at UCLA, with the goal of helping these scientists obtain their first independent research positions.