Mara Mather facts for kids

Mara Mather is a professor who studies how our brains and bodies change as we get older. She teaches at the USC Davis School of Gerontology. Her work looks at how our feelings (emotions) and stress can change our memory and how we make choices. She is the daughter of a famous mathematician, John N. Mather.

What Mara Mather Studies

How Feelings Change as We Age

Mara Mather and her team found something cool about older adults. They tend to focus more on positive things and less on negative things. This happens when they pay attention and remember things. It's like they see the bright side more often!

You might think this happens because their brains are getting weaker. But Dr. Mather's research shows that's not the case. She found that this "positivity effect" is actually quite surprising. Our bodies' stress systems change as we get older. These changes are usually linked to feeling worried or sad. So, it's amazing that older adults still tend to be more positive.

Dr. Mather thinks this positivity might be a way the brain tries to balance out other changes. It's like the brain is working to keep things feeling good.

How Emotions Affect Memory

Dr. Mather also studies how strong feelings (emotions) affect what we remember. For a long time, scientists knew emotions could change memory. But it was hard to predict when emotions would make memory better or worse.

She created a new idea called the "arousal-biased competition" (ABC) model. This model helps explain how emotions can make us remember some things really well. At the same time, they can make us forget other things. It's like emotions help our brain decide what information is most important. The brain then focuses on that important information.

For example, if something exciting happens, you might remember the main event very clearly. But you might forget small details that weren't as important. This model helps us understand why our memories work this way when we feel strong emotions.

The Locus Coeruleus and Aging

Dr. Mather's research also looks at a tiny part of the brain called the locus coeruleus. This part of the brain makes a chemical called noradrenaline. Noradrenaline helps us pay attention and react to things.

Scientists used to not pay much attention to the locus coeruleus when studying aging. But now we know it's very important. Studies show that changes in this brain area can happen decades before someone might get Alzheimer's disease.

Dr. Mather's lab was the first to use special MRI scans to study the locus coeruleus in living people. They found that a healthier-looking locus coeruleus was linked to better thinking skills in older adults. This includes remembering past events. This research helps us understand how brain changes might lead to memory problems as people get older.

Breathing and Brain Health

Have you ever heard that slow breathing can help you relax? Dr. Mather's team studied how slow breathing affects the brain. They looked at something called heart rate variability (HRV). People with higher HRV often feel less worried or sad.

Many thought HRV just showed how healthy your brain was. But Dr. Mather believed that changing your heart rate could actually improve brain health. She tested this idea in a study.

People in the study did daily sessions of slow breathing for five weeks. They breathed slowly at a special rhythm (about 0.1 Hz). This rhythm is called "resonance frequency breathing." The study found that this slow breathing helped different parts of the brain connect better. These parts are important for managing emotions. This might explain why slow breathing can make people feel calmer and happier. The study also found that slow breathing could lower levels of a certain protein in the blood. This protein is linked to Alzheimer's disease.

Awards and Honors

Mara Mather has received many important awards for her research. These awards show how much her work has helped us understand the brain and aging.

• National Institute on Aging K02 Career Development Award
• Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution to Psychology from the American Psychological Association
• Richard Kalish Innovative Publication Award from the Gerontological Society of America
• Excellence in Teaching Award from the UC Santa Cruz Committee on Teaching
• USC Mentoring Award for Faculty Mentoring Faculty and Postdoctoral Scholars
• Springer Early Career Achievement Award in Research on Adult Development and Aging
• Margret Baltes Dissertation Award in the Psychology of Aging from APA Division 20
• American Psychological Association Dissertation Research Award
• National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship
• AAPB Distinguished Scientist Award
• Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Research Fellowship
• Max Planck Sabbatical Award