Understanding Brain Age GapAge-related neurodegenerative conditions, such as brain atrophy, do not always align with our chronological age. The “brain age gap” is defined as the difference between a person’s MRI-predicted brain age and their actual chronological age. A positive gap indicates an older brain age than expected – signifying accelerated brain aging – while a negative gap reflects a younger brain age, suggesting a slowdown in brain aging. A higher brain age gap has been observed in various neurological conditions, including mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. Using advanced brain-age prediction models based on brain MRI data, researchers estimated each participant’s brain age before and after the dietary intervention.