Brain Workouts May Tone Memory
From: Wired News - 08/04/2005
By: Joanna Glasner

It's common knowledge that a proper exercise regimen can do wonders for the
body. Only recently, however, have psychologists and gerontologists
aggressively applied the same principle to the mind. 

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. 

"Most people's idea of fitness stops at the neck," said Patti Celori,
executive director of the New England Cognitive Center. "But the brain is the
CPU of our body, and most people don't do much to keep it as fit as possible."  

The NECC runs one of a growing number of programs that work with older adults
to improve cognitive abilities. Activities include computer programs designed
to stimulate specific areas of the brain, replication of geometric designs
using boards with pegs and rubber bands, and visual and auditory memory
exercises. 

Some of the other programs are Maintain Your Brain, initiated a year ago by
the Alzheimer's Association; Mind Alert, run by the American Society on
Aging; and other regional programs such as the Center for Healthy Aging in
Kent, Ohio. 

For do-it-yourself types, a plethora of books have been published on getting
the brain in shape. Paula Hartman-Stein, a geropsychologist at the Center for
Healthy Aging, recommends The Better Brain Book, by David Perlmutter and
Carol Colman, and The Memory Bible by Gary Small. 

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. 

A 2000 National Research Council report commissioned by the National
Institute on Aging found some brain exercises were worthy of government
funding. 

But skeptics question whether beginning an active regimen of brain teasers
late in life will do much to prevent brain disorders. 

Research to date provides scant evidence that mental exercise can stave off
dementia, wrote Margaret Gatz, a psychology professor at the University of
Southern California, in an article published by the Public Library of Science. 

Gatz wrote in an e-mail that she would be more convinced if researchers
randomly assigned cognitive training, then followed study subjects over
several decades. 

She also said she was concerned that too much emphasis on the benefits of
mental fitness could stigmatize Alzheimer's patients. 

"If mental exercise is widely believed to prevent (Alzheimer's disease), then
individuals who do become demented may be blamed for their disease on the
grounds of not having exercised their brains enough," she said. 

Still, supporters of cognitive-fitness programs are pushing for greater
recognition from the federal government. During December
information-gathering sessions leading up to the White House Conference on
Aging, conference representatives said several speakers have made a case that
brain health ought to be promoted in much the same way that physical fitness
is today. 

Few people see much downside in pursuing brain-stimulating activities, said
Nancy Ceridwyn, special-projects director at the American Society on Aging.
Puzzles, spelling practice, memory exercises or book discussions don't pose
much harm. 

That said, Ceridwyn isn't convinced that all the brain exercises being
offered today are practical. She wonders whether workbooks that ask adults to
do pages of math problems to get their brains in gear might be unnecessarily
torturing people in their twilight years. 

"How many people are going to get up and say, 'I'm excited about doing my
multiplication tables today'?" she said. "Not many." 

Read the article at:
http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,68409,00.html