Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 19, 2026
09:38
Generalized Psychophysiological Interaction (PPI) Analysis of Memory Related Connectivity in Individuals at Genetic Risk for Alzheimer's Disease
Published on: November 14, 2017
Genetic array data from the Northern Ireland COhort for the Longitudinal study of Ageing (NICOLA)
Laura Smyth1, Marisa Canadas Garre1, Claire Hill1
1Queen's University Belfast.
Research Square
|May 18, 2026
Summary
The Northern Ireland COhort for the Longitudinal study of Ageing (NICOLA) generated genetic data from blood samples. This data links genetic factors to health, lifestyle, and financial situations in older adults.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Genetics
- Epidemiology
Background:
- The Northern Ireland COhort for the Longitudinal study of Ageing (NICOLA) is a large population cohort study focusing on individuals over 50.
- NICOLA collects comprehensive longitudinal data, including health assessments and biological samples, to understand healthy ageing.
- A subset of participants underwent health assessments with blood sample collection for molecular biomarker analysis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To generate genetic data from blood-derived DNA within the NICOLA cohort.
- To enable research exploring genetic connections to health, lifestyle, environment, and financial situations in aging populations.
- To integrate genetic data with rich cross-sectional and longitudinal data for comprehensive aging research.
Main Methods:
- Genetic data was generated using the Illumina Infinium CoreExome-24 array.
- Quality control was performed on directly genotyped and imputed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).
- Data is available for 2,978 NICOLA participants, including 551,839 directly genotyped and 18,148,478 imputed SNPs.
Main Results:
- Generated genetic data for a significant subset of the NICOLA cohort.
- Successfully produced a dataset with a large number of directly genotyped and imputed SNPs.
- The dataset is ready for integration with existing NICOLA longitudinal and cross-sectional data.
Conclusions:
- The generated genetic data provides a valuable resource for aging research within NICOLA.
- This resource will facilitate the exploration of genetic influences on various aspects of healthy aging.
- Enables future studies to investigate gene-environment and gene-lifestyle interactions in older adults.
Related Concept Videos
01:26Longitudinal Studies
Longitudinal studies are also widely used in other medical and social science fields. For instance, in cardiovascular research, they can monitor patients' health over decades to identify risk factors for heart disease, such as high cholesterol or smoking, and evaluate the long-term effectiveness of preventive measures. Similarly, in mental health studies, researchers might follow individuals from adolescence into adulthood to understand the development and progression of conditions like...
02:20Longitudinal Research
Sometimes we want to see how people change over time, as in studies of human development and lifespan. When we test the same group of individuals repeatedly over an extended period of time, we are conducting longitudinal research. Longitudinal research is a research design in which data-gathering is administered repeatedly over an extended period of time. For example, we may survey a group of individuals about their dietary habits at age 20, retest them a decade later at age 30, and then again...
01:28Human Genetics
Human genetics provides a profound framework for understanding the interplay between genetic predispositions and human psychology. At the heart of this discipline lies the study of how genes influence physical traits, behaviors, and susceptibility to diseases. Each person carries a unique genetic code that subtly or significantly shapes their psychological and behavioral landscape.
The complex relationship between genetics and psychology is observable through common biological components such...
The complex relationship between genetics and psychology is observable through common biological components such...
01:50Cross-Sectional Research
In cross-sectional research, a researcher compares multiple segments of the population at the same time. If they were interested in people's dietary habits, the researcher might directly compare different groups of people by age. Instead of following a group of people for 20 years to see how their dietary habits changed from decade to decade, the researcher would study a group of 20-year-old individuals and compare them to a group of 30-year-old individuals and a group of 40-year-old...
02:34DNA Microarrays
Microarrays are high-throughput and relatively inexpensive assays that can be automated to analyze large quantities of data at a time. They are used in genome-wide studies to compare gene or protein expression under two varied conditions, such as healthy and diseased states. Microarrays consist of glass or silica slides on which probe molecules are covalently attached through surface functionalization. Most commonly, the slides are prepared through the chemisorption of silanes to silica...
01:29Bias in Epidemiological Studies
Biases can arise at various stages of research, from study design and data collection to analysis and interpretation. Recognizing and addressing these biases is essential to ensure the validity and reliability of epidemiological findings.Broadly speaking, biases in epidemiology fall into three main categories: selection bias, information bias, and confounding. A more detailed description of possible biases is: