Brain Workouts May Tone Memory
Wired News: Brain Workouts May Tone Memory: "Among people who work with older adults, the concept of 'cognitive fitness' has become a buzzword to describe activities that stimulate underutilized areas of the brain and improve memory. Proponents of brain-fitness exercises say such mental conditioning can help prevent or delay memory loss and the onset of other age-related cognitive disorders...One purpose of mental exercises is to reinforce the idea that "in aging, not everything is downhill," said Elkhonon Goldberg, a Manhattan neuropsychologist and author of The Wisdom Paradox, which examines how some people grow wiser with age.
"There are gains that are subsequent and consequent to a lifelong history of mental activity and mental striving," Goldberg said. He also believes brain exercises can benefit adults suffering from mild cognitive impairment, and he has developed computer puzzles designed to help them stimulate different areas of their brain.
It's not clear how much targeted brain exercises can prevent the onset of cognitive disorders in older adults. But some findings indicate that high cognitive ability is tied to a lower risk of Alzheimer's...
One of the most extensive and widely cited investigations on the subject, the landmark Nun Study, tracked 100 Milwaukee nuns who had written autobiographies in the 1930s. More than 50 years later, scientists gave them cognitive tests and examined the brain tissue of nuns who died. Those who demonstrated lower linguistic ability in the autobiographies were at greater risk for Alzheimer's disease.
A similar study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association surveyed 801 older Catholic nuns, priests and brothers. The results linked reading newspapers and participating in other brain-stimulating activities with a reduced risk of Alzheimer's."
posted by Jen @ 7:08 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home