Dr. Arthur Kramer is a Professor in the University of Illinois branch of Psychology, the Campus Neuroscience Program, the Beckman Institute, and the Director of the Biomedical Imaging center at the University of Illinois.
I am honored to interview him today about up-to-date brain research findings focused on how to declare a healthy, strong brain.
Alvaro Fernandez (Af): Dr. Kramer, thank you for your time. Let's start by trying to clarify some existing misconceptions and controversies. Based on what we know today, and your up-to-date Nature piece (Note: referenced below), what are the 2-3 key lifestyle habits would you suggest to a man who wants to delay Alzheimer's symptoms and improve farranging brain health?
Dr. Kramer (Dk): First, Be Active. Do corporeal exercise. Aerobic exercise, 30 to 60 minutes per day 3 days per week, has been shown to have an impact in a variety of experiments. And you don't need to do something strenuous: even walking has shown that effect. There are many open questions in terms of definite types of exercise, duration, magnitude of effect...but, as we wrote in our up-to-date Nature Reviews Neuroscience article, there is petite doubt that leading a sedentary life is bad for our cognitive health. Cardiovascular rehearsal seems to have a determined effect.
Second, declare Lifelong Intellectual Engagement. There is abundant prospective observational research showing that doing more mentally stimulating activities reduces the risk of developing Alzheimer's symptoms.
Let me add, given all media hype, that no "brain game" in single has been shown to have a long-term impact on Alzheimer's or the maintenance of cognition across extended periods of time. It is too early for that-and consumers should be aware of that fact. It is true that some fellowships are being more science-based than others but, in my view, the consumer-oriented field is growing faster than the research is.
Ideally, join both corporeal and thinking stimulation along with social interactions. Why not take a good walk with friends to discuss a book? We lead very busy lives, so the more integrated and consuming activities are, the more likely we will do them.
Af: Great concept: a walking book club! Now, part of the obscuring we study is due to the crusade of "magic solutions" that work for everyone and everything. We prefer to talk about some pillars of brain health, and dissimilar priorities for dissimilar individuals. Can you clarify on what interventions seem to have a determined ensue on definite cognitive abilities and individuals?
Dk: maybe one day we will be able to suggest definite interventions for individuals based on genetic testing, for example, but we don't have a clue today. We are only beginning to understand how the environment interacts with our genome.
But I agree on the factory that there probably won't be a normal clarification that solves all cognitive problems, but we need a multitude of approaches. And we can't forget, for example, the cognitive benefits from smoking cessation, sleep, pharmacological interventions, nutrition, social engagement.
Physical rehearsal tends to have rather broad effects on dissimilar forms of perception and cognition, as seen in the Colcombe and Kramer, 2003, meta-analysis published in Psychological Science (Note: referenced below).
Cognitive training also works for a multitude of perceptual and cognitive domains - but has shown petite change beyond trained tasks.
No single type of intervention is sufficient. Today there is no clear research on how those dissimilar lifestyle factors may interact. The National fabricate on Aging is beginning to sponsor research to address positively that.
Af: To wrap up, what's in your mind the best way to clarify the relative benefits of corporeal vs. Cognitive exercise? From a basic point of view, it seems clear that corporeal rehearsal can help improve neurogenesis (Note: the creation of new neurons), yet learning/ cognitive rehearsal contributes to the survival of those neurons by strengthening synapses, so I see more how those two "pillars" are complimentary than "one or the other".
Dk: I agree. Given what we know today I would suggest both intellectual engagement and corporeal exercise. However, we do know, from a multitude of animal studies, that corporeal rehearsal has a multitude of effects on brains beyond neurogenesis, including increases in assorted neurotransmitters, nerve grown factors, and angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels).
Af: Dr. Kramer, many thanks for your time.
Dk: You are welcome.
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