6. Dementia: Let's See How Far We Can Delay It | Dr Ashleigh Smith & Maddison Mellow

Dr Ashleigh Smith is an emerging research leader whose research is positioned at the nexus of neuroscience, exercise physiology and cognitive ageing. She has held consecutive research fellowships since 2013 and is leading a national interdisciplinary team, which has recently been awarded a Boosting Dementia Research Grant worth $1,2 million. Dr Ashleigh Smith is a member of the Alliance for Research in Exercise Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), whose research vision is to develop targeted and sustainable physical interventions, to improve health, across the lifespan.

Maddison Mellow is a Research Assistant in the Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA). My research is centred around understanding the acute effects of exercise on neurophysiology (brain connectivity, excitability and plasticity) using non-invasive brain stimulation techniques.

• Dementia. What is it? How does it occur? How do we prevent it?
• What is the optimal use of time in a 24-hour day in older adults to increase their cognitive function and reduce their dementia risk?
• Modifiable and nonmodifiable factors for dementia. 35% are modifiable. Physical inactivity, poor diet, smoking, not enough sleep, poor vascular health, diabetes. The role of physical activity. Exercise is good for the brain. Exercise enhances neuroplasticity. Reduces cognitive decline. Importance across the life span.
• Getting people to enjoy exercise and how to fit it into the day. Benefit from 5 minutes a day. The importance of how we use our time across the 24-hour day. What is the best balance for the outcome that is most important for you.
• Social engagement, movement, enjoyment. What happened in late life when people start to withdraw from society. How can we improve that ageing experience for everybody so everybody can engage in the way that they wish to you in society.

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