Emily Chan
New research suggests that brain changes that affect decision-making skills in older adults might make them more likely to fall for financial scams. The vulnerability to financial exploitation can signal Alzheimer’s disease long before the telltale symptoms appear.
A team of researchers from the University of Southern California and other institutions recently conducted a study that demonstrates a link between the thickness of a brain region called the entorhinal cortex and an individual’s vulnerability to financial exploitation.
The entorhinal cortex is a small area of the brain that helps two other regions communicate: the hippocampus, which is important for memory, and the prefrontal cortex, which is vital for planning and decision-making. The area can start to thin out as people age, especially among those who might be in the early stages of Alzheimer’s.
“Assessing financial vulnerability in older adults could help identify those who are in the early stages of mild cognitive impairment or dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease,” said Duke Han, the lead author of the study and a professor of psychology and family medicine at the University of Southern California.
Con artists can contact seniors through phone or email. If they fall for the scams, their retirement savings can get wiped out.
In the study, the researchers discovered that older adults with a thinner entorhinal cortex were more likely to feel vulnerable to financial exploitation. The correlation was strongest in participants over 70 years old.
The team took detailed images of the brains of 97 adults over the age of 50. None of them had any signs of cognitive impairment. They measured the thickness of the entorhinal cortex.
The participants were also asked to complete a questionnaire called the Perceived Financial Vulnerability Scale, which assessed their level of susceptibility to falling for financial scams.
The findings revealed that people with a thinner entorhinal cortex reported higher feelings of vulnerability to financial exploitation. The researchers suggested that the thinning of the entorhinal cortex may interrupt communication between brain regions involved in memory and decision-making.
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