Chronic Stress and Cognitive Aging

Stress is a complex, multifaceted construct that has been investigated for over 10 decades. To date, the study of stress and cognitive agingAging has garnered interest and cross collaboration among multiple and diverse fields, that have provided compelling evidence for the impact of chronic stress and subsequent biological dysregulation on brain health and cognitive agingAging. This chapter will provide an overview of the foundational theories and models of stress, followed by an overview of stress physiology, cognitive agingAging, and the literature that examines the interplay between stress physiology, inflammation, and gut dysbiosis in the context of brain health and cognitive aging. Finally, the importance of situating the association between stress and cognition within the sociocultural context will be discussed.