An age-related decline in human fluid intelligence corresponds with immature astroglia prevalence
5 affiliations
- 1Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California , , ,
- 2Neurorestoration Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California , , ,
- 3Los Angeles General Medical Center , , ,
- 4Department of Neurology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California , , ,
- 5Department of Psychology, Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center , , ,
Abstract
Age-related cognitive decline remains a daunting health challenge, and targeting neuronal cells alone has been insufficient to halt its progression. Astroglia are emerging as key players in cognitive function and dysfunction, yet their relevance to age-associated cognitive decline in humans remains unclear. Epilepsy patients undergo age-amplified progressive cognitive decline. Our prior research in Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (MTLE) patients identified pathological stellar Dcx + immature astroglia in epileptic, but not healthy hippocampus. In this study, we combined histology data with pre-surgical neuropsychology tests to assess (1) age-associated cognitive decline in MTLE patients (N = 40), (2) age-related changes in Dcx + immature astroglia (N = 29), and (3) the association between Dcx + immature astroglia and cognitive decline (N = 19). We observed a strong decline in fluid intelligence, visuospatial reconstruction, and memory with age. An increase in Dcx + immature astroglia positively correlated with age, whereas negatively associated with nonverbal abstract reasoning and fluid intelligence as measured by the Raven's Progressive Matrices test. These findings reveal an interplay among aging, fluid intelligence decline, and immature astroglia prevalence in epilepsy patients. Our study suggests immature astroglia represent a new cellular target to consider for altering age-associated cognitive decline.
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BibTeX
@article{ammothumkandy2026agerelated,
title = {{An age-related decline in human fluid intelligence corresponds with immature astroglia prevalence}},
author = {Aswathy Ammothumkandy and Luis Corona and Nadia A. Atai and Aidin Abedi and Nora Jimenez and Michelle Armacost and Lina M. D’Orazio and Virginia Zuverza-Chavarria and Alisha Cayce and Mohammad Shariq and Ryan McGinn and Darrin Lee and Brian Lee and Christianne Heck and Jonathan J. Russin and Charles Y. Liu and Jason A. D. Smith and Michael A. Bonaguidi},
journal = {Frontiers in cellular neuroscience},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fncel.2026.1926804},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13727376},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - An age-related decline in human fluid intelligence corresponds with immature astroglia prevalence
AU - Aswathy Ammothumkandy
AU - Luis Corona
AU - Nadia A. Atai
AU - Aidin Abedi
AU - Nora Jimenez
AU - Michelle Armacost
AU - Lina M. D’Orazio
AU - Virginia Zuverza-Chavarria
AU - Alisha Cayce
AU - Mohammad Shariq
AU - Ryan McGinn
AU - Darrin Lee
AU - Brian Lee
AU - Christianne Heck
AU - Jonathan J. Russin
AU - Charles Y. Liu
AU - Jason A. D. Smith
AU - Michael A. Bonaguidi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/20
JO - Frontiers in cellular neuroscience
DO - 10.3389/fncel.2026.1926804
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13727376
AB - Age-related cognitive decline remains a daunting health challenge, and targeting neuronal cells alone has been insufficient to halt its progression. Astroglia are emerging as key players in cognitive function and dysfunction, yet their relevance to age-associated cognitive decline in humans remains unclear. Epilepsy patients undergo age-amplified progressive cognitive decline. Our prior research in Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (MTLE) patients identified pathological stellar Dcx + immature astroglia in epileptic, but not healthy hippocampus. In this study, we combined histology data with pre-surgical neuropsychology tests to assess (1) age-associated cognitive decline in MTLE patients (N = 40), (2) age-related changes in Dcx + immature astroglia (N = 29), and (3) the association between Dcx + immature astroglia and cognitive decline (N = 19). We observed a strong decline in fluid intelligence, visuospatial reconstruction, and memory with age. An increase in Dcx + immature astroglia positively correlated with age, whereas negatively associated with nonverbal abstract reasoning and fluid intelligence as measured by the Raven's Progressive Matrices test. These findings reveal an interplay among aging, fluid intelligence decline, and immature astroglia prevalence in epilepsy patients. Our study suggests immature astroglia represent a new cellular target to consider for altering age-associated cognitive decline.
SN - 1662-5102
ER -