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Brain research: This is how aging affects our tactile sensory cells!
Dr. Peng Liu receives the Attempto Prize for her research on aging processes in the somatosensory cortex at the University of Tübingen.
Brain research: This is how aging affects our tactile sensory cells!
On October 17, 2025, the Attempto Prize was awarded to Dr. Peng Liu, who works as a postdoctoral researcher at the Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research. Her outstanding work on research into the aging processes in the cerebral cortex when processing tactile stimuli was recognized with this award. Dr. Liu studies how the human brain and that of mice respond to tactile stimuli and what changes occur in the brain layers with age.
A key finding of their research is that the cerebral cortex becomes thinner with age. This is commonly associated with a loss of nerve cells. In particular, the somatosensory cortex, which is responsible for processing tactile stimuli, shows significant changes. Structured in a total of six layers, the fourth layer, which is active in the evaluation of tactile stimuli, is the subject of intensive investigation.
Research results in detail
Dr. Liu performed high-resolution brain scans on younger and older people using a powerful magnetic resonance imaging scanner. It was shown that the deep layers of the brain become thinner with age, while the middle and upper layers do not show any age-related decline. It is also interesting that the fourth layer becomes thicker in this age group and contains more myelin. This myelin layer covers the projections of the nerve cells and promotes the speed of signal transmission in the brain.
Particular attention was paid to a person without an arm who was found to have a thinner fourth layer on the affected side of the body, indicating clear connections between sensory information and brain structure. In addition, similar results were found in studies on mice representing different age groups.
About the effects of lifestyle
Neuroscientist Dr. Anne Schäfer from the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging also offers insights into the aging processes of neurons. In a recently published podcast, she highlights the role of lifestyle and infectious diseases on neuronal aging. Central aspects such as the cooperation between glial cells and neurons and the influence of brain teasers on brain performance are discussed.
The connection between the immune and nervous systems, particularly the role of microglial cells in infections, is discussed in detail in the podcast. These findings may not only be important for basic research, but also have implications for therapeutic approaches related to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's.
The comprehensive data on the changes in the brain layer structures as well as the knowledge about the aging processes of the neurons contribute to gaining a better understanding of neuronal plasticity and how it is influenced by external factors. Dr. Liu and Dr. Through their research, Schäfer shows that future studies on stimulating brain areas could potentially open up new approaches to influencing the effects of aging.