Training Your Brain

Will health-minded seniors focus on keeping their minds as fit as their bodies in the years ahead? Experts are convinced that this is an up-and-coming priority for aging Baby Boomers as well as people already in their 60s, 70s and 80s.

"Over the next few years, we will see these (brain health) programs burst into the mainstream with great force," predicted Dr. Elkonon Goldberg, a clinical professor of neurology at New York University School of Medicine and co-founder of Sharp Brains, a company that evaluates and helps markets brain-fitness programs.

A growing body of scientific studies supports the trend.

The newest research comes from a large, well-designed study known as Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (known as ACTIVE), published in December in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Unlike previous studies, this one has a relatively long-term horizon. More than 2,000 healthy seniors in Baltimore; Birmingham, Ala.; Boston; Detroit; Indianapolis; and State College, Pa., were evaluated multiple times over five years.

Participants were divided into four groups. Three received special training in specific mental functions (memory, reasoning and speed of processing) and one group, with no training, served as a control.

The major finding was stunning: Relatively short training regimens - 10 sessions of 1 to 1.5 hours each over five or six weeks_improved mental functioning as long as five years later. Booster sessions helped advance these gains, and some people found it easier to perform everyday tasks, such as managing finances, after mental workouts.

"I think what this shows, conclusively, is that when healthy older people put effort into learning new things, they can improve their mental fitness," said Michael Marsiske, a member of the research team and an associate professor at the University of Florida at Gainesville. "And even if structured learning is relatively brief, you should be able to see the benefits of that learning for some time to come."

Read the complete article:
http://www.positscience.com/newsroom/news/news/020707.php

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