As we age, many of us fear the onset of dementia or Alzheimer's, there is some interesting research that shows that you can train your body and your mind to help, if not prevent, the onset of dementia. The following is taken from a story written by Yella Hewings-Martin, Ph.D., published in July 2017. The full story is here.
Needless to say, understanding how lifestyle and targeted interventions affect the brain is complex. However, keeping the brain and body active throughout life certainly seems to have positive effects on brain health.
A study presented by Bianca Bier, Ph.D., from the University of Montreal in Canada, looked at the effects of two different types of brain training.
Single attention training allowed participants to focus on one of two tasks and practice it repeatedly. But in the divided attention training group, participants performed two different tasks at the same time, controlling which one they paid the most attention to.
In a study of 30 healthy adults, these two different training schemes had very different effects on the brain. For instance, divided attention training activated those regions of the brain responsible for multitasking, but this plateaued halfway through the study.
Meanwhile, single attention training resulted in rapid activation of regions responsible for the particular task the participants were performing up to the halfway study point, but it declined afterward.
Dr. Bier explained that this is important as it means that all brain training exercises are not equal and that it will be important to choose the right type for individual patients.
This assessment was echoed by Narlon Silva, a Ph.D. student at Western University in Ontario, Canada, who looked at physical exercise and cognitive function.
His study included seniors who had all self-reported some cognitive decline. He compared regular mixed physical exercise - which consisted of aerobic and strength training - with an additional group that performed a new form of mind-motor training.
In this type of training, an instructor demonstrates a stepping pattern on a mat that is marked with four columns of equal squares. As the instructor moves along the mat, he places his feet on different squares, creating a stepping pattern that can range from simple to complex.
Participants were then asked to copy the stepping pattern demonstrated to them in an exercise lasting 15 minutes. These exercises were repeated three times per week for 24 weeks.
Both groups improved their cognitive function after 24 weeks, but there was no difference between the groups. However, during a subsequent follow-up at 52 weeks, the mind-motor training group had improved significantly more than the exercise-only group.
This led Silva to speculate that the training tested in the study had a delayed effect, and that, as Dr. Bier had found, all training is not equal.
The data presented at AAIC certainly point to exercise, cognitive training, and cognitive complexity in daily life as all having a positive influence in preventing a decline in old age. But do scientists know anything about the underlying causes?
The findings were only significant for white study participants, who showed that one particular variant of this gene was associated with higher exercise levels during the study period. However, regardless of which variant of the gene a particular participant carried, all had reverted back to pre-intervention exercise levels at the 12-month follow-up.
Prof. Rosso speculated that higher dopamine levels may play a role in sticking to exercise regimes in lifestyle interventions, but more work is needed.
Scientists are continuing their search for the best methods to keep our brains young and protect them from the deadly neurodegeneration that occurs in Alzheimer's disease.
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