Cognitive function is the level at which the brain is able to manage and use available information for activities of daily life. Alzheimer’s disease affects about 47 percent of adults aged 85 years or older in the US.
Scientists have found a limited but growing body of evidence of a link between vitamin D and cognitive function.
The study was led by epidemiologist Katherine Tucker with the Jean Mayer in Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University in Boston, Mass.
The researchers have found that metabolic pathways for vitamin D in the hippocampus and cerebellum areas of the brain. These areas are involved in planning, processing, and forming new memories.
This suggests that vitamin D may be implicated in cognitive processes.
The study appears in the Journals of Gerontology.
