OVERVIEW
The BrainHealth Project is Center for BrainHealth's longitudinal study seeking to find effective ways to measure, track, and improve brain health throughout life. With recent research showing it is possible to enhance both neural and behavioral aspects of brain health, leaders of this novel study hypothesize that with tools for building brain-healthy habits, otherwise healthy adults without identified brain disease can improve their brain health and performance across the lifespan.Launched in September 2020 and one of Center for BrainHealth's currently recruiting studies, the study targets generally healthy adults aged 18 years and older using a protocol that entails measuring and monitoring brain health changes over time and providing easy access to validated training protocols and personalized tools aimed at improving executive functioning, stress management, social connectedness and associated healthy lifestyle choices. Study design is built upon component interventions have been previously validated in a series of randomized-design studies Core procedures for the Project are conducted online via the BrainHealth Platform, accessible via web, iOS, or Android applications through a personal computer or a full-function mobile device (native app launched in February 2024). The BrainHealth Index (BHI) is a multidimensional assessment of brain health and performance, comprised of an online battery of cognitive performance measures and self-report questionnaires completed by participants through the BrainHealth Platform, producing the study’s primary outcome measure, the composite BrainHealth Index (BHI) score. The BHI is unique in that it is designed to measure change over time without the presumption of decline or a specified ceiling – i.e., characterizing the development and potential upward improvement of brain health rather than serving as a decline-oriented, adjusted normative, or diagnostic cognitive measure. Training is comprised primarily of evidence-based cognitive strategy learning, Strategic Memory Advanced Reasoning Tactics (SMART™), developed by Center for BrainHealth neuroscientists and clinicians to promote improvement in executive functioning and self-agency.Aiming to unlock insights into determinants of brain wellness and cognitive resilience across the lifespan, this groundbreaking study draws inspiration from the paradigm-shifting Framingham study and adopts a similarly broad, observational approach. If successful, this effort could reshape the landscape of brain health research and clinical practice guidelines.
