Research Paper Volume 12, Issue 23 pp 23548—23577

Figure 1. A model of mental-physical health crosstalk. One’s mindset may determine the decisions that ultimately affect their health. Interpreting the biological consequences of lifestyle choices in terms of aging has become relatively easy thanks to a wide variety of aging clocks. The psychological drivers behind these choices, however, are poorly understood. For example, it remains unknown how agreeableness or feeling fragile affects mitochondrial upkeep and DNA methylation profiles. The feedback loops that go from molecular level aging biomarkers back to psychological traits are yet another gap in our understanding of aging mechanisms. Deep psychological clocks may help us bridge this gap and bring psychology into the domain of biogerontological studies.