YOU KNOW THOSE BRAIN-TRAINING EXERCISES--THEY MAY ACTUALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE

If you type "brain training exercises" or "brain training games" into a search engine, you'll get millions of hits. Companies offering games and exercise promising to ward off failing memory, loss of concentration and other signs of cognitive decline have become big business. These exercises have also become controversial, with some studies and experts highly critical of their usefulness.

Brain-training research, Brain and Mind Centre/Credit: University of Sydney

A new study published today in the American Journal of Psychiatry can shed some light on this issue. Researchers at the Brain and Mind Centre at the University of Sydney, in Australia, reviewed more than twenty years worth of research on the effects of computerized cognitive training (CCT). They selected only randomized clinical studies, and used the statistical technique of meta-analysis to combine the results. 

Their findings are surprisingly clear--for people with mild cognitive impairment, structured brain training can boost general thinking skills, attention, working or short-term memory, verbal long-term memory, learning and mood. 

Mild cognitive impairment, or MCI, represents a kind of middle ground between the kinds of memory and other cognitive problems that occur with normal ageing and the more severe changes seen in Alzheimer's disease and other full-blown dementias. Typically about 10 percent of people diagnosed with MCI develop Alzheimer's or another form of dementia within a year.

In general, the kinds of computerized games and challenges studied did not help after people had already been diagnosed with dementia. Intriguingly, however, three studies that used more immersive technology such as Nintendo's Wii or virtual reality did show positive results even then--a lead well worth following.

Although emphasizing that further research is needed to see if the clear improvements caused by these cognitive exercise programs delay or perhaps in some cases prevent dementia, the researchers are encouraged. "Our research shows that brain training can maintain or even improve cognitive skills among older people at very high risk of cognitive decline," says neuroscientist Amit Lampit, who lead the study. "and it's an inexpensive and safe treatment."

With recent research also showing that structured physical exercises can also improve cognitive functioning in people with MCI (see my blog entry for 10/25/16), we can see the outline of safe and inexpensive interventions that may keep people's brains healthy and functioning well even as they age.

FEELING MENTALLY FOGGY? PUMP SOME IRON!

Trouble remembering that phone number? Forget why you went into the kitchen? Doctor's appointment just slipped your mind? Lose track of what you're saying in the middle of a . . . ?

If that kind of mental glitch is all too familiar, then you, like millions of ageing Americans, may be suffering from mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This cluster of brain-related changes centering around memory but at times impacting attention, concentration and decision-making may simply be one of the frustrations of getting older, but it can also be a warning sign along the road to Alzheimer's disease or other kinds of dementia.

The good news is that something as simple as increasing your muscle strength by lifting weights or working out on resistance machines can turn back the clock.

Credit: The University of Sydney

A new study just published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that people 55 and above with MCI who did progressive resistance exercises two times a week for six months not only gained physical strength but significantly improved their cognitive functioning as well. 

"The stronger people became, the greater the benefit for their brain," says lead author Yorgi Mavros, at the University of Sydney.

The weight-training participants--ranging in age from 55 to 86--lifted at 80 percent of their maximum capacity in order to gradually increase muscle strength.

To top off the good news, the participants' improved mental sharpness lasted for a year or more after the strength training ended.

This carefully designed and controlled study allowed the researchers to confirm a causal relationship between the strength-increasing exercise and cognitive improvement for the first time. The most consistent and across-the-board improvements came with increased lower body strength.

Previous research at the same center using MRI scans showed that weight training actually caused an increase in the size of particular brain regions, and that those brain changes correlated with improved cognitive functioning.

Remarkably, weight training boosted cognitive functioning more than computerized cognitive training did.

"The more we can get people doing resistance training like weight lifting, the more likely we are to have a healthier ageing population," said Mavros. 

"The key however is to make sure you are doing it frequently, at least two times a week, and at a high intensity so that you are maximizing your strength gains. This will give you the maximum benefit for your brain."

You can read the paper's abstract and supporting documents here.

And, to help you remember what you've just learned, a new study shows that 30 minutes of aerobic exercise improves retention and memory for new information.