Justin Wang
Personalized Virtual Brains Across the Adult Lifespan: Simulating Neural Dynamics in Ageing and Alzheimer's Disease
As people live longer, more of us are experiencing age-related cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's. To address this, we need a better understanding of how brain activity patterns change with age and disease. Many key brain properties cannot be measured directly with brain scans, but they can be estimated using computer models.
In this project, I will use brain images, health information, and cognitive test results from over 2,000 adults across the lifespan to build personalized brain simulations with The Virtual Brain software. These simulations estimate properties essential for healthy cognition, including the natural randomness in brain signals (noise), how strongly brain regions influence one another (global coupling), and the ability of brain regions to flexibly switch between active and resting states (bistability).
I will examine how these properties shift in healthy ageing and how they differ in Alzheimer's disease. By mapping these changes, this research could reveal how the ageing brain maintains function, why these processes break down in disease, and which measures might serve as early warning signs. Ultimately, this work could support earlier diagnosis and guide new strategies to protect brain health across the lifespan.