Antonio Terracciano of FSU has found that the personality traits of conscientiousness and neuroticism might be associated with Alzheimer’s disease and are visible early on in certain individuals. The research combines 12 studies on personality and Alzheimer’s with data from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.

“Here, we are looking at the neuropathology; that is, the lesions in the brain that tell us about the underlying pathological change. This study shows that even before clinical dementia, personality predicts the accumulation of pathology associated with dementia,” said Terracciano.

• Antonio Terracciano