If there is one key message coming out of the final day of the conference — staying cognitively active and physically active is our best defence against age-related brain failure! Dr. Torkel Klingberg (Karolinska Institute, Sweden ) presented promising data showing intensive cognitive training interventions can improve attention deficits (working memory) in children with ADHD and in healthy older adults.

Dr. Lars Nyberg (Umea University, Sweden), a former post doc at the Rotman Research Institute — presented data from a large study that has followed the physical and cognitive health of over 4,000 adults aged 35 – 80 years during a two-decade period to see when brain failure starts to show. He found that the decline starts gradually around the mid 30s and then nose-dives around 60-65 years of age. But if there is a silver lining here, it is that all older adults are not alike in this trajectory. Studies have found variability of cognitive performance. In fact, there have been “rare” cases of spontaneous positive reversals of decline in this age group. Could cognitive training encourage this “reversal” in more adults? That is an exciting question that scientists are starting to probe.

One member of the audience suggested that the sharp decline in cognitive powers that appears to hit around age 60 or so, could be related to the time when older adults typically start to retire. Dr. Nyberg agreed that may be a possible predictor and would require more research. He added that science is already showing that “level of education” is a strong predictor of cognitive health in later years.

Dr. Art Kramer (University of Illinois), who is internationally renowned for his research looking at the effects of aerobic exercise on cognitive and brain health, opened his presentation with a simple but powerful refrain – “use it or lose it” The good news, he said, is that levels of cognitive performance are “malleable” and “open to enhancement” throughout the human lifespan. That presents all of us with an incredible opportunity. The challenge, however, is to develop cognitive training exercises or games that don’t just target one specific cognitive domain (such as memory), but can generalize to other domains associated with “speed” and “reasoning” — all the cognitive functions we rely on everyday in our busy lives. How well do the current crop of brain fitness games work, he asked aloud . “The breadth of transfer of training to everyday life is usually quite narrow,” he cautioned.

What about video games? Dr. Kramer pointed to studies that have shown that playing commercial video games such as “Medal of Honor” seem to strengthen a variety of cognitive processes. Moreover, the games are adaptive and increase in difficulty as the player gets better. A group of older adults were trained on the video game “Rise of Nations”, which is a time strategy game that requires the player to build a civilization. It’s a strategic thinking game that challenges the player to schedule, plan and manage resources. The older adults were given 24 hours of training over a month. Results showed a positive effect across various cognitive domains.

Dr. Kramer also mentioned a John Hopkins study that measured the physical , cognitive and social benefits of older retired volunteers helping out in inner city schools in Baltimore for a minimum of 15 hours a week. The results were very positive. Baycrest is currently leading a study called BRAVO with boomer volunteers that sounds very similar.

Dr. Kramer has conducted research to see whether aerobic exercise in older adults can engender structural brain changes. Adults who participated in a six-month exercise program showed increased volumes in grey and white matter, compared to a control group that wasn’t exercising. Hippocampal volume has also shown increases with aerobic exercise. Even a regular and brisk walking routine can have benefits for cognitive and brain health.

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