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Researchers are gaining deeper insights into how the human brain ages and factors associated with healthy cognitive aging, including exercising, avoiding tobacco, speaking a second language or playing a musical instrument.
Some older cognitive abilities may be related to test scores around age 11; A review paper published Thursday in the journal Genomic Psychiatry From Genomic Press New York.
The paper is based on data Lothian birth cohort studies In Scotland, the frontline suggests that half of the difference in people's cognition – why some people have more cognitive decline than others – may already be present in childhood.
However, certain lifestyle habits of older adults appear to be associated with improved cognitive performance and slower brain aging.
“We found that factors such as physical and mental activity and participation, a few 'artificial' risk factors (such as blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking, BMI), speaking a second language, playing musical instruments, and having a young child, can be identified. They show possible-but-small associations,” Simon Cox, author of the new paper and study director of the Lothian Birth Cohort at the University of Edinburgh, said in an email.
“We came up with the idea that 'Marginal Gains, Not Magic Bullet' is a good way to think about a recipe for better cognitive aging: instead of finding that something has a big risk, we look at lots and lots of (often semi-overlapping) factors, each of which probably makes a small contribution to your risk of cognitive aging.” They do, Cox said.
He added that such lifestyle factors – when taken together – could explain “about 20%” of the variation in cognitive decline between the ages of 70 and 82.
The Lothian Birth Cohort includes data from two studies of older people: a cohort of Scottish adults born in 1921 and another cohort born in 1936. All took a standardized cognitive test at age 11 and were then tested in their 70s, 80s and 90s. Cognitive functions and physical fitness, among other things.
“We first took an MRI scan of the participants when they were 73 years old. One of the most striking things about the study for me was how wide the differences were between their scans,” Cox wrote.
“Even though they are all the same age, some brains look perfectly healthy (and wouldn't be out of place in a 30- to 40-year-old scan),” he said. “They show more degeneration and damage to white matter, including other features linked to cognitive aging and dementia.”
White matter is the connective tissue between brain cells and the rest of the nervous system, helping these regions communicate with each other through nerve signals. decreased Or damaged white matter reduces the brain's ability to process information.
Overall, “it shows that brain aging at age 73 is not inevitable, and it urges us to explore what we can do to emulate the lucky few who reach that age,” Cox said.
For people under the age of 20 to 30 years old people whose memory seems sharp are called Cognitive super countries.
“Not all aspects of brain aging occur together in the same people,” Cox said. “We are now investigating whether different constellations of brain aging characteristics are driven by specific risk factors.”
Dr. Richard Isaacson, as an aging brain researcher, spoke to the new paper.
It was a really practical narrative about the 'nuts and bolts' of why this type of research is so difficult and how to get the most value out of it when embarking on a long-term study. Isaacson, director of research at the Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases in Florida, was not involved in the paper.
There is a strong body of research on key lifestyle differences that may contribute to differences in the aging brain. For example, poor sleep a A key risk factor b A failure of knowledgeAnd mental health issues like depression are known Risk factors To develop dementia.
Regular exercise by walking or cycling only three times a week Improve intelligenceAs a 2018 study. Adding a heart-healthy diet to your daily routine can also help. It slows down brain aging and reduces the risk of dementia. and 2020 study It indicates that Daily meditation can slow brain aging.
Experts have developed a Brain Care Score and study published tool. It can help to evaluate a person's situation in the last year Risk of dementia or stroke as they age
of 21 point point According to the study, published in the journal, it shows how a person carries physical, lifestyle and social-emotional health components on 12 health-related issues. Frontiers in Neurology. The researchers found that participants with higher scores had lower risk Dementia or a stroke later in life.
Those 12 factors are blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, body mass index, diet, alcohol consumption, smoking, aerobic activity, sleep, stress, social relationships, and finding meaning or purpose in life.
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For all those who hope Improving the health of the aging brain“Seeing your doctor at least every year or two” is important to talk about your overall physical health, vascular health and chronic diseases, Isaacs said.
“These things may not actually cause Alzheimer's, but they can accelerate cognitive aging and cognitive decline. So see your primary care doctor and take your blood pressure – everyone should know their numbers. What is your blood pressure? What is your fasting blood sugar? What are your cholesterol numbers?” he said. Another important thing is to monitor bone health. I think many people don't realize that bone health, muscle strength, and grip strength are critical and predictors of mental health outcomes over time.