Brain Exercise and Warding off Cognitive Decline

A study, recently published in JAMA Neurology and discussed in a MedPageToday.com article, seems to indicate that people who engage in vigorous mental activity throughout their lives tend to delay or slow cognitive impairment, compared to those whose minds are less stimulated. In the new study, 277 participants in their mid-70s to early 80s who had developed mild cognitive impairment were prospectively compared over five years with 1,718 others who scored cognitively normal. The participants, all Olmsted County, Minn., residents, were quizzed at baseline about their job types and 10 categories of cognitive activity in which they engaged in the previous year and when they were 50 to 65 years old. Their performance on cognitive tests was tracked from enrollment through the follow-up period. Those with higher educational attainment and more mentally challenging employment at baseline had higher cognitive performance throughout the study period; moreover, even within categories of education/occupation level, those with higher middle- and late-life levels of cognitive activity also performed better. To read a discussion about the study, click here.