You probably already know that recently there was yet another dismal report about Alzheimer's disease. The prediction now is that the numbers of cases will double every twenty years. Non-genetic causes are believed to be preventable. What will this mean for you, as you get older?
As you keep reading, you will see it is not all doom and gloom. What if you could go back to a time when you did not have to think about your brain?
As we get older, we are more and more worried about the increased chance of cognitive decline and dementia. This is for good reason. One reason to worry is the fact that we are living longer.
Most of us will encounter some level of cognitive decline, if we live long enough. As our cognitive function decays, so does our independence and quality of life. When I was younger, I considered aging equal to a low quality of life. However, as you will see, this does not have to be the case any longer.
Luckily, along with these doom and gloom research studies, there have also been brain studies going on.
A lot of recent brain research uses Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) scans. These scans determine levels of brain activity in parts of the brain. Cognitive tasks are performed while the scan is in process. The amount of blood flow to parts of the brain indicates how active that part is. Get used to the fMRI acronym – you are going to be seeing this a lot in the future.
A team from UCLA recently reported some interesting test results. Their study consisted of older adult volunteers. They were all between the ages of 55 and 78. Half of them rarely used the Internet. The other half used it daily. They used neurologically normal volunteers. The groups were similar in age, education level and gender.
They scanned each participant while they were doing an Internet simulation task. Then for two weeks, each day they performed Internet searches for an hour. The searches included answering questions about different topics, exploring websites and reading various materials.
After the two weeks, the volunteers came back in for another scan. These scans took place during a similar Internet simulation task. After only two weeks, the results were remarkable! The scans of those inexperienced with the Internet showed similar brain patterns as those who have been using the Internet for a long time.
In the first scan, the new users showed less activity in the brain. There was activity in the regions in charge of language, reading, memory and visual ability. The second scans showed more all over activity. The areas important to working memory and decision-making also lit up.
What is most amazing is the short amount of time it took. Only after two weeks, the brain's activity level came close to matching that of experienced users. There is much more research that needs to be done regarding this finding. This is just the beginning. Future research will need to identify which parts of surfing create the best levels of brain activity.
While surfing the net is not a proven method to improve cognitive function yet, there are proven programs available. Don't we all want an easy way to keep our brains fit well into our future?
A study funded by the National Institute of Health found that brain training could improve memory, reasoning and processing speed. They also found that cognitive improvements continued for at least five years. However, this does not tell us which brain training works the best and for what.
Using any brain training product is better than using none at all. When you choose a product, make sure to verify they have clinically researched results. Make sure they can deliver what they say they can deliver.
I encourage you to investigate brain training programs, I'm sure you will be glad you did.
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Will you or someone you love be one of the 35 million living with dementia? Do something now!
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