It is increasingly clear that delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia by several years can meaningfully lower its prevalence. The goal of the present study is to examine the relationship between lifestyle activities and cognition function as well as cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of AD to determine whether these activities can serve as protective factors for AD resistance and resilience. 173 cognitively normal older individuals (mean ± SD, 69 ± 6.4 years) were recruited to the Stanford Aging and Memory Study (SAMS) and completed the Community Healthy Activities Model Program for Seniors (CHAMPS) questionnaire regarding current social, cognitive, and physical activity (Table 1). They also underwent APOE genetic testing and a detailed neuropsychological evaluation. The following cognitive domains were evaluated after conversion to z-scores: global cognition (cognitive composite), executive function, working memory, attention, episodic memory, visuospatial function, and language (see Table 2 for definitions). 127 participants completed lumbar punctures, and levels of Aβ-40, Aβ-42, p-tau181, and total tau were measured in the CSF. Cross-sectional regression models included age, sex, years of education, and APOE status as co-variates. Benjamini-Hochberg corrections for multiple hypotheses were completed. There was a significant association between social activity (frequency/week) and global cognition (β = 0.20, p = 0.03), executive function (β = 0.15, p<0.05), and working memory (β = 0.26, p = 0.01) but not episodic memory, visuospatial function, or language function. There was also a significant association with attention prior to correction for multiple hypotheses (β = 0.17, p = 0.04) but not afterward (Table 2). Additionally, there was a significant association between cognitive activity (hours/week) and global cognition (β = 0.19, p = 0.03) as well as executive function (β = 0.25, p = 0.007) but not with other cognitive domains tested (Table 3). There was no association between light or moderate caloric expenditure and cognitive measures. There was also no significant relationship between CSF biomarkers and levels of social, cognitive, and physical activity. In a well-characterized cohort of cognitively normal older adults, higher levels of social and cognitive activity were associated with higher cognitive scores on tasks of executive function but not episodic memory. The mechanism mediating this relationship appears to be independent of both Aβ and tau burden.

Non-pharmacological approaches may guide prevention and treatment strategies for patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), but little is known about the “dose” and “type” required. The goal of this study is to examine what types of social and cognitive activities are associated with cognitive performance and AD biomarkers. 173 cognitively normal participants (69.0 ± 6.4 years) completed a questionnaire regarding frequency and hours per week of 7 social and 5 cognitively engaging activities. Participants underwent neuropsychological testing (z-scored composites of executive function, working memory, attention, episodic memory, visuospatial function, and language as well as a global cognitive composite), CSF biomarker testing (127 individuals: Aβ-42/Aβ-40, p -tau181, and t-tau), and plasma testing (127: Aβ-42/Aβ-40 and pTau181). Regression co-variates included age, sex, education, and APOE. Because this was a hypothesis-driven analysis, multiple comparisons corrections were deferred. Visiting loved ones more frequently was associated with higher global cognition (β=0.20, p  = 0.0097), executive function (β=0.17, p  = 0.037), and working memory (β=0.20, p  = 0.021) scores. More hours spent on these visits was associated with higher executive function scores (β =0.15, p  = 0.049). Volunteering more frequently was positively associated with global cognition (β=0.20, p  = 0.0069), executive (β=0.17, p  = 0.031), and working memory (β=017, p  = 0.046); volunteering for more hours per week was positively associated with executive function (β=0.18, p  = 0.016). There was a negative association between cognitive performance and senior center attendance (executive function: β=-0.17, p  = 0.033) and church attendance (language and frequency: β=-0.21, p  = 0.012; language and hours: β=-0.19, p  = 0.020). Attending clubs more frequently was positively associated with working memory (β=0.17, p  = 0.047). Using computers for longer was significantly associated with global cognition (β=0.26, p  <0.001), executive function (β=0.29, p  <0.001), working memory (β=0.17, p  = 0.045), attention (β=0.18, p  = 0.026), and language (β=0.18, p  = 0.029). Additionally, doing woodworking, needlework, drawing, or other crafts for longer was positively associated with executive function (β=0.15, p  = 0.048). Games, billiards, attending events, playing an instrument, and reading were not associated with cognitive performance. There was no association between these activities and AD biomarkers. In a comprehensive analysis of the associations between types of social and cognitive activities on cognitive scores, social visits, volunteering, clubs, computer use, and crafts were associated with higher cognitive performance.

There has been a wide array of scholarship that has investigated the effects of social media use on psychological well-being since 2006, with most focusing on general populations, specific populations of non-Black individuals, or specific use patterns such as passive use, active use, and addictive use. Comparatively, the extant literature focusing on Black populations is sparse. In this scoping review, we collected 38 articles that studied social media experience and psychological well-being by Black social media users in America. We found recurring research themes that focused on the Performance of Signifyin,' cyberbullying victimization, racial stereotyping and discrimination, along with more common well-being measures, including self-esteem, social support, depression, stress, anxiety, and negative affect. The findings of this research suggest nuanced dynamics of Black social media experience, potentially due to the unique overlapping influences of social practices and exposure to traumatizing content that Black users encounter on social media. Because our examination of articles was limited to populations of Black users in the United States, we note that our findings may not be extendable to Black social media users who reside in other parts of the world.

While AI technologies and tools offer various potential benefits to their users, it is not clear whether opportunities to access these benefits are equally accessible to all. We examine this gap between availability and accessibility as it relates to the adoption of AI-Mediated Communication (AI-MC) tools, which enable interpersonal communication where an intelligent agent operates on behalf of a communicator. Upon defining six functional AI-MC types (voice-assisted communication, language correction, predictive text suggestion, transcription, translation, personalized language learning) we conducted an online survey of 519 U.S. participants that combined closed- and open-ended measures. Our quantitative results revealed how AI-MC adoption is related to software, device, and internet access for tools such as voice-assisted communication; demographic factors such as age, education and income in the case of translation and transcription tools; and some components of AI-MC literacy for specific functional tools. Our qualitative analyses provide additional nuance for these findings, and we articulate a number of barriers to access, understanding, and usage of AI-MC tools, which we suggest hinder AI-MC accessibility for user groups traditionally disadvantaged by one-size-fits-all technological tools. We end with a call for broadly addressing accessibility concerns within the digital technology industry.