Organiser's Note: The presenter of this talk withheld their permission for video to be published.

The onset of age-related neurodegenerative diseases superimposed on a declining nervous system could enhance the motor and cognitive behavioral deficits that normally occur in senescence. It is likely that, in cases of severe deficits in memory or motor function, hospitalization and/or custodial care would be a likely outcome. This means that unless some way is found to reduce these age-related decrements in neuronal function, healthcare costs will continue to rise exponentially. Thus, it is extremely important to explore methods to retard or reverse the age-related neuronal deficits as well as their subsequent, behavioral manifestations. Applying molecular biological approaches to slow aging in the human condition may be years away. So it is important to determine what methods can be used today to increase healthy aging, forestall the onset of these diseases, and create conditions favorable to obtaining a "longevity dividend" in both financial and human terms. In this regard, epidemiological studies indicate that consumption of diets rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory (anti-INF) compounds, such as those found in fruits and vegetables, may lower the risk of developing age-related neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's diseases (AD and PD). Research from our laboratory, as well as others suggests that the polyphenolic compounds found in fruits, such as berries, may exert their beneficial effects by altering oxidative stress (OS) or INF signaling and neuronal communication, suggesting that interventions may exert protection against age-related deficits in cognitive and motor function. Our studies showed old rats maintained for 2 months on diets containing high antioxidant strawberry, blackberry, blueberry (BB) or raspberry extracts, or walnuts, exhibited reversals of the age-related deficits in neuronal function or cognitive behavior. Subsequent experiments in both cell and animal models have indicated that polyphenols contained in berries, and perhaps the poly-unsaturatued fatty acids in walnuts, may have anti INF/OS properties, as well as direct effects on improving neuronal signaling by reducing stress signaling and increasing neurogenesis. Recent findings from our cell models suggest that berries may prevent the deleterious effects of INF/OS by actually blocking the stress signals (e.g., nuclear factor kappa B). Their generation results "downstream" of the generation of cytokines and cyclooxygenases I and II which ultimately produce negative effects and invoke further OS/INF in the brain. Importantly, this information can then be utilized to show that the addition of berries (e.g., BB, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries) and walnuts to the diet may increase "health span" in aging. Extending these findings to humans, a collaborative study has indicated that elderly people with memory loss given blueberry juice twice a day (up to 12 ounces for 12 wks) showed significant improvements in cognition. Importantly, it may be that the translational value of the berry studies may be further enhanced by considering the idea of "food pairings for health" which relates to the putative synergistic effects among the various berries in conjunction with nuts such as walnuts and perhaps even chocolate.