Brain aging is usually discussed as something that happens in your 60s and 70s. A study from UCLA Health suggests the first measurable signals may appear much earlier, and that they may be connected to what’s happening in the gut.
What the researchers did
The team, led by senior author Dr. Arpana Church, analyzed brain scans from nearly 1,500 generally healthy adults across three separate study groups. The scans measured how different brain regions communicate while a person is at rest.
A computer model used those patterns to estimate each person’s “brain age.” The gap between that estimate and their actual age became a score the researchers call the Brain Aging Index. A higher score means the brain looks older than expected.
What they found
- People with higher scores did worse on tests of working memory and executive function, the skills you use to plan and juggle tasks.
- They also reported more symptoms of depression.
- The differences were concentrated in brain networks tied to memory and to thinking about oneself.
- In one of the three groups, higher scores went along with certain gut bacteria and byproducts, including some fat molecules, a cholesterol-related compound and lower levels of a hormone called estetrol.
The researchers say the biological pathways involved touch on immune function, blood vessel health, communication between nerve cells and cellular energy. Church said the biological signals of brain aging may be detectable decades before old age. The study was published in the journal eBioMedicine.
The catch
This is a cross-sectional study: it compares people at one point in time. It shows associations, not cause and effect, so it can’t tell us whether gut bacteria speed up brain aging, whether brain changes affect the gut, or whether something else drives both. The gut findings came from only one of the three groups. And because participants were mostly younger and middle-aged healthy adults, the results may not apply to older people or those with neurological conditions.
What you can do with this
Nothing here supports buying a probiotic or a gut test to protect your brain. What it does support is the growing view that brain health is a lifelong project rather than a late-life one, and that the gut is worth studying as part of it. The everyday habits already recommended for heart and brain health remain the sensible place to start.
This article is for general information, not medical advice.
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