If this were an alcoholics anonymous type situation, I would introduce myself with the following: "Hi, my name is Kat and I'm terrified of aging". Getting old sucks! I pulled out my first grey hair two weeks ago, at the ripe age of 21. And with grey hairs come rent payments, funerals, dealing with health insurance, and soon, student loan debt. Take me back to the days where my only responsibilities were taking naps and reading Judy Blume.
In reality, getting older isn't terrible, although I would definitely consider picking up Superfudge again. I hated being a kid and being told what to do. And even though I'm slathering on sunscreen like crazy to keep my skin young and unwrinkled (seriously guys, wear your sunscreen!), I'll take debt and having to make real, big-person decisions over Rocket Power every afternoon and having an allowance. One decision that I'm making is to live a healthier life and be conscious of what I put in my body for "Future Kat". Eating healthy and eating red meat sparingly to avoid high cholesterol, avoiding unprotected sun-exposure, and staying away from cigarettes and unhealthy amounts of alcohol are a good way to start. I loved tanning beds when I was younger, and even though being whiter than Casper the ghost sucks, I'll take the pale over cancer.
I'm getting off topic. Basically, I'm working on aging gracefully, and taking care of your mind is naturally an important aspect of that. Most of the women in my family have lived into their 80's or beyond, so this is something that could actually make a difference in my own life. People are living longer, but are they living 'better'? Some would look at the rising rates of Alzheimer's and Dementia and probably say that our society is not living better or aging gracefully. Last year in Neuroscience Seminar, Dr. Morrison presented his findings on "Super Agers", which immediately piqued my interest. These individuals were older adults who retained the cognitive abilities and memories of a much younger person. Unfortunately, I had to leave early for work (Sorry Dr. Morrison) and was unable to ask the question that was burning a hole in my head: What did these individuals do when they were younger that allowed them to retain their cognitive capacities? Were they just freaks of nature or are there preventative measures for memory and cognitive decline?
Huffington Post published an article regarding Super Agers in August entitled "Meet The 'Super Agers' Who Could Unlock The Mystery of Aging". This article discussed the research of Emily Rogalski at Northwestern University's cognitive neurology and Alzheimer's disease center in Chicago. Her and her team of researchers discovered that the anterior cingulate of 'Super Agers' is far larger than that of normal controls. As we discussed in class, the cingulate gyrus plays a key role in executive function, and the anterior portion of the cortex has implications in a variety of cognitive functions as well. The article also cited another study at Northwestern in which 'Super Agers's' brains had less accumulated tau protein tangles (I would assume they would have less accumulation of beta-amyloid plaques as well). However, the article didn't really cite any information regarding preventative measures or how one can become a 'Super Ager' themselves, other than having a "positive attitude on life".
Since I'm always thinking about myself, I wanted to look more into the cognitive implications of "Brain Training" and aging. Brain Training is discussed very briefly in the end of Daniel Bohr's The Ravenous Brain, within the context of treating children with ADHD and increasing working memory ability. Bohr references two such studies. In the first, Torkel Klingberg and his colleagues found increases in working memory and IQ levels in children after they had the participants practice memory tasks (Bohr 2012, 255). A study by Joni Holmes and colleagues found similar results when pitting working memory tasks against medication. In the Klingberg study, participants had greater activation within the prefrontal parietal network, and the Holmes study found that their tasks improved working memory for six months after training had ceased. These cognitive training tasks clearly have large implications, especially as more and more children receive an ADHD diagnosis than ever before. Cognitive training and working memory tasks were able to help schizophrenic patients as well! However, Bohr states that popular "Brain Training" games (Lumosity comes to mind here) do not lead to working memory improvements for non-elderly adult patients, or populations outside of clinical studies.
In spite of that, Bohr does state in a footnote that there is some research indicating that cognitive training could help elderly patients avoid dementia as they age. I wanted to find more research for the cognitive implications of training games in older populations, and found an article published by NPR last month entitled "Multitasking After 60: Video Game Boosts Focus, Mental Agility" by Jon Hamilton. In a study by Adam Gazzaley at University of California, San Francisco, 46 participants ages 60 to 85 were recruited to test out 'NeuroRacer', a multi-tasking game developed by Gazzaley's lab and video game developers. The game works by having "players perform two tasks simultaneously...to use a joystick to navigate on this winding road that's going left and right and up and down. The second task is to hit a button whenever the player sees a road sign in the form of a green circle" (NPR, 2013). The participants first had their initial evaluation in the lab, and played the game while the researchers monitored their neural activity (the article did not state the methods used for this, but further research said that they used EEG as I initially assumed). The participants then went home and played the game on their laptops for three times a week over the course of a month. The participants apparently found dramatic improvements in memory and attention after the course of the month.
According to Gazzaley, the EEG patterns associated with decision-making and multitasking. Further information about the methods can be found in the published content via Nature, but the researchers assessed midline frontal theta to examine working memory and attention (Nature, 2013). These findings also persisted for six-months after ceasing training, and participants reported higher quality of attention and memory. I think the next task for researchers would be to examine whether these neuro-training methods have any implications for early Dementia or Alzheimer's patients. And even though these 'Brain Training' games have minimal effect on populations under the age of 65, the article does go on to say that exercise and strenuous mental activities are another great way of staving off aging and keeping your brain young. Lucky for me!
References:
Anguera, J.A., Boccanfuso, J., Rintoul, J.L., Al-Hashimi, F., Faraji, J., Janowich, E., Kong, Y., Larraburo, C., Rolle, E., Johnston, E., & Gazzaley, A. (2013). Video game training enhances cognitive control in older adults. Nature, 501. Retrieved from http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v501/n7465/full/nature12486.html.
Bohr, D. (2012). The Ravenous Brain. New York, Basic Books.
Emling, S. (2013). Meet the 'Super Agers' who could unlock the mystery of aging. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/23/super-agers_n_3804213.html.
Hamilton, J. (2013). Multitasking after 60: video game boosts focus, mental agility. NPR. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/09/10/218892225/multitasking-after-60-video-game-boosts-focus-mental-agility.
Interesting post! Your mention of the link between exercise and brain function reminded me of an article I read for lab that stated that just 15 minutes of moderate exercise woven in to the school day improved working memory and attention span in kids, while strenuous exercise actually hindered executive function. I wonder how effective moderate exercise is in the long run, and what implications, if any, high impact exercise has on cognitive function/the aging process.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who also worries about how aging will affect my future (mostly mental aging) , I appreciate where you're coming from. I try to eat healthier, exercise, and just recently picked up doing various "brain training" activities, even though, like you mentioned, they have a larger impact later in life than now.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of how effective brain training is at a younger age, I think it is something that is highly overlooked and that needs to be increased in use. So much emphasis is put on eating healthy, and physical exercise in today's world, yet rarely do we hear much in regards to mental exercising. The idea of brain plasticity is only recently getting exposed to the public and I think this has limited mental exercising. Hopefully now, with research showing just how plastic the brain can be, more people will be inclined to mold and train their brains in a similar fashion to how they are physically training and improving their bodies. With a healthier body and healthier brain, lifespans will not only continue to rise, but quality of life can also stay high later into life.
I too have the Luminosity games on my phone because I don't look forward to my brain inevitably getting older either. But instead of working hard to prevent it by working out, eating healthier, and "brain training", taking it easy can be beneficial as well. Sleep is very important for cognitive function because well rested brain is better at finding complex solutions to problems.Taking it easy is not limited to sleep either, stress can actually be bad for your brain cells. I remember reading an article that said the hippocampus, which we know to be important for memory formation, can be hindered by chronic stress. So while it is important to make sure you are doing everything positively for your mind, make sure that you don't spend too much time stressing about your brains inevitable aging. Getting enough sleep and not being stressed is just as important for cognitive health.
ReplyDeleteI always find posts on memory particularly intriguing because I spend a lot of time with my Grandmother who has progressive dementia. I think especially in our generation, so much emphasis is placed on early prevention: "How can I prevent my mind from aging?" "How can I prevent getting cancer?" You can't. Of course there are ways to lessen our chances of getting cancer or to keep our mind and body healthy. But for now there is no magic pill or cure to prevent these things.
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, I think more focus should be placed on human connection and it's impact on a healthy mind. My grandmother is a great example of this. A few years ago, her memory was fading alarmingly fast. Her neurologist suggested she start spending time at the community center which offers free programs to retired adults with memory issues. The effects of spending two days a week with other people suffering from dementia and Alzheimer's has been remarkable. Most notable being that she is actually learning to read and spell at age 76 and with only a 2nd grade education! Of course with dementia being the unforgiving condition that it is, her memory has not dramatically improved. However, it's deterioration has not noticeably progressed either. I truly believe that this is due mostly to her interactions with her other "classmates." She cannot drive anymore and getting out of the house is impossible unless one of her children or grandchildren can drive her. Other than her husband of 55 years, socialization with friends is rare. This situation afflicts many aging adults and I cannot imagine that isolation is good for an aging mind. Being picked up by her "chauffeur" (a bus full of old people) and spending the afternoon at "school" (a dingy community center decorated like a kindergarten classroom) have become the highlights of her week. When I visit her at home she actually begs me to stop talking to Grandpa and help her with her homework. It has been truly amazing what a difference this simple social circle has made with slowing her dementia's progress.
Slowing the process of aging, or "aging gracefully" is something that many people are concerned with. Some will go through whatever it takes to retain youth and health. There is a Harvard publication titled Improving Memory:Understanding and Preventing Age-Related Memory Loss, which lists various things people should try to do for healthy aging and for keeping the brain active. It lists things like getting mental stimulation, eating a healthy diet, getting exercise. avoid alcohol and tobacco, and protecting your head. One that particularly stood out was building social networks. The book mentions that having stable social ties can contribute to having lower blood pressure, and therefore a longer life-span.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. In your blog, you asked “What did these individuals do when they were younger that allowed them to retain their cognitive capacities?” I believe that this is a question that everyone thinks about once in a while. This post reminded me of an article that I recently came across in Scientific American entitled Brain Games: Do They Really Work? P. Murali Doraiswamy and Marc E. Agronim mentioned a study done by Glen Smith and his colleagues that showed how brain training in normal adults helped improve information processing by focusing on the auditory system. This study was interesting to me since, it pointed out brain training through the auditory system. To add in I was amused to find that participants in this study were better able to recall items such as shopping lists and showed greater confidence in themselves.
ReplyDeleteResources:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=brain-games-do-they-really