‘Neurobics’ And Other Brain Boosters

The Wall Street Journal:

Every day, it seems, a new study reports that caffeine — or fish oil or friendships — lowers the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Many of these are “associations” that may or may not have a cause-and-effect relationship. There is still much that isn’t known about the telltale plaques and tangles that slowly strangle the brains of Alzheimer’s victims.

But what scientists do know now that they didn’t just a decade ago is that people generate new brain cells, and new connections between them, throughout life. And the more mental reserves people build up, experts believe, the better they can stave off age-related cognitive decline.

“It’s like having more cell towers in your brain to send messages along. The more cell towers you have, the fewer missed calls,” says P. Murali Doraiswamy, chief of biological psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center and co-author of a new book, “The Alzheimer’s Action Plan,” which outlines a host of ways to keep even normal brains spry.

Mental stimulation is one key. The more you challenge your brain, the more new nerve pathways you form. A mini-industry of brain teasers, puzzles and computer games has sprung up to help worried baby boomers do just that. But you can give your brain a good workout with just a few modifications in your daily life.

Read more.

Photo by The Wall Street Journal.

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