Dr Giovanni Sala PhD

Research Overview

The investigation of human cognition is one of the most significant scientific endeavours of our times. How the brain develops and maintains its capabilities influences our ability to tackle societal and individual problems. The pressure sustained by healthcare systems due to the increasing ageing population and the quality of life of senior citizens are two poignant examples.
The study of the correlates of cognitive decline is the focus of our research. Individual differences in cognitive decline remain, regrettably, largely unexplained. We here employ state-of-the-art machine learning techniques to analyse longitudinal databases of older adults. We aim to identify and rank those variables (e.g., lifestyle, environment, socioeconomic status, etc.) that contribute to preventing cognitive decline and, ultimately, the onset of dementia.