8 minute read
Neuroscience, Aging & a Healthy Brain
– Chinese proverb
Advertisement
Ty "the NeuroGuy" McKinney, Ph.D
While this proverb has obvious
applications for trying to grow a forest, it also applies to our brain health. If you look at brain cells (neurons) under a microscope, they resemble trees with branches that reach out and connect to other brain cells. These connections create neural networks that enable us to do all sorts of complex tasks, like reading written language, coming up with a persuasive argument, and remembering what was for breakfast last Tuesday. Like a healthy tree, healthy brain cells have tones of branches that make these neural networks strong and resilient. In contrast, when these connections between the neurons wither away as we age, so too does our capacity for complex thinking and the memories stored in those neural networks. Continuing the brain-tree analogy a little further, the key to healthy brain aging is to make sure that the forest of neurons inside our head is as thick and thriving as the complex ecosystem of an ancient forest. This is where the analogy of planting a tree 20 year ago circles back. But first, let’s step back and learn about why an effective brain health strategy needs to be planned 20 years in advance.
This decade, nearly all the Baby Boomers are going to pass the retirement threshold of age 651. While this is a cause for celebration in one regard (they deserve their retirement!), it is also a warning sign that an epidemic of dementia could be round the corner. According to The Alzheimer's Society of Canada2, approximately 564,000 Canadians are currently living with some form of dementia and that number is expected to almost double within the next 15 years to 937,000. Alzheimer’s Disease is just one type of dementia that impacts a part of our brain called the Hippocampus, which is critically important for learning new information and retrieving old memories. Anyone who has a family member diagnosed
(continued from page 19...)
with Alzheimer’s Disease knows that the memory challenges present in these patients requires extra resources. In fact, it’s estimated that between those living with Alzheimer's, their families, and other caregivers, over 1.1 million Canadians are impacted by dementia with an annual cost of $10.4 billion dollars2 . To put that in perspective, Canada spent $24 million on COVID vaccines in 20213 and as more Baby Boomers enter the higher risk age bracket for dementia, this societal cost will continue to grow.
Unfortunately, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s Disease and currently available drug treatments only delay the onset. In a meta-analysis of over 3500 patients, these drugs only prevented 25% of people at risk for Alzheimer’s from transitioning into an official diagnosis4. Despite this grim statistic, a different meta-analysis of over 430,000 people found one protective factor that we can work with to improve this situation: Education5 . To illustrate this finding, imagine you have a room with 100 older adults (aged 75-84) that have high school education. In this room, we would expect 19 people to have Alzheimer’s disease. In contrast, in a room of 100 people the same age who have a university degree, we would only expect 12 people to be diagnosed with dementia. What’s so special about that piece of paper from a university that it lowers the risk for dementia?
This is where the brain-forest analogy comes back into play. Neuroscientists believe that those people who pursued a university degree are probably more intellectually curious people than their high school-educated
GETS STUDENTS PERFORMING LIVE
MAKES PRACTICING FUN
GETS STUDENTS PERFORMING LIVE
TEACHES STUDENTS SONGS THEY LOVE GETS STUDENTS PERFORMING LIVE GETS STUDENTS PERFORMING LIVE
MAKES TECHNIQUE ACCESSIBLE
SCHOOL OF ROCK | Calgary
TEACHES STUDENTS SONGS THEY LOVE2707-17th AVE SW, Calgary, AB (587) 353-7625 calgary.schoolofrock.com
MAKES PRACTICING FUN MAKES TECHNIQUE ACCESSIBLE
SCHOOL OF ROCK | Calgary
2707-17th AVE SW, Calgary, AB (587) 353-7625 calgary.schoolofrock.com
MAKES PRACTICING FUN
SCHOOL OF ROCK | Calgary
2707-17th AVE SW, Calgary, AB (587) 353-7625 calgary.schoolofrock.com
MAKES TECHNIQUE ACCESSIBLE
Key-Angels.com is a unique financing platform that connects single parent and zero parent families access to buying their first home.
SCHOOL OF ROCK | Calgary
2707-17th AVE SW, Calgary, AB (587) 353-7625 Key-Angels calgary.schoolofrock.com
By connecting them to people who have Qualifying room, so they can buy their first Home while renting the other units. #ittakesavillage. Why we wanted to do this is we want to bring families together and reduce anxiety\stress and improve mental wellness.
Our mission is to provide investment with a purpose. Which also helps single parent and zero parent families buy their first home, which would be an income home as they live in one unit and gain stability. Purpose: To provide access, and solve the housing crisis
Our Value is providing single parent and zero parent families the ability to grow and succeed in their lives. They will have a roof over their head, stability, and the opportunity to access their first home!! Which is great for YOU the investor, great for them, and great for the Community.
Key-Angels.com
counterparts. This curious disposition then leads people to seek out learning opportunities across their lifespan, not just during the 4 years of their university education. Every time you have a novel experience or learn something new, the neural forest inside of your Hippocampus gets a little thicker and your memory networks become more resilient. If a brain is starting to develop dementia, all the extra synapses created from this life-long learning process provides a buffer against the damage caused to our Hippocampus by Alzheimer’s Disease. As a result, people with higher levels of education often have a delayed onset of dementia. However, neuroscientists believe that education is just a proxy variable for this curious disposition and a university degree is not actually needed to reduce your risk for dementia. Much like planting a tree, however, this protective factor is most effective if it was implemented 20 years ago. For all the “young Canadians” reading this article, this means that your dementia-mitigation strategy begins now so that in 20 years your Hippocampus has lots of extra synapses ready to help you age gracefully. For any Baby Boomers reading this article, the second-best time to start a dementia-mitigation strategy is also right now. One study found that for people at age 60, the longer someone had been inactive from their professional life, the worse their memory scores were6. Thankfully, in case going to get a university degree is not feasible for you, there are plenty other ways to “plant trees.”
Here are a few suggestions that anyone, of any age, could begin today:
1. Work towards learning a new language.
This could be for either professional or personal reasons but being bilingual can strengthen our brain power.
2. Broaden your cultural perspective. One of the most beautiful things about Canadian culture is that all the new immigrants bring their culture with them as a learning opportunity. Learning about their differing perspective on everyday topics such as food, family, and entertainment is an exciting and opportunity to boost your brain’s resilience.
3. Start a new hobby. The keyword, however, is “New.” It matters less what the hobby is, be it a starring new sport or becoming an artisan basket weaver, so long as you dedicate the time to mastering a new skill.
4. Get musical. The emerging field of musical neuroscience is showing several brain health benefits for creating and experiencing music, even as we enter advanced age.
References 1. OK, boomer! The future for Canada's soon-to-retire demographic | CBC Radio 2. https://alzheimer.ca/en/Home/About-dementia/What-is-dementia/Dementia-numbers 3. Coronavirus: Canada spent $24M on COVID-19 vaccines received in January, StatCan reports | CTV News 4. Diniz, B. S., Pinto, J. A., Gonzaga, M. L. C., Guimaraes, F. M., Gattaz, W. F., & Forlenza, O. V. (2009). To treat or not to treat? A meta-analysis of the use of cholinesterase inhibitors in mild cognitive impairment for delaying progression to Alzheimer’s disease. European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience, 259(4), 248-256. 5. Meng, X., & D’arcy, C. (2012). Education and dementia in the context of the cognitive reserve hypothesis: a systematic review with meta-analyses and qualitative analyses. PloS one, 7(6), e38268. 6. Adam, S., Bonsang, E., Grotz, C., & Perelman, S. (2013). Occupational activity and cognitive reserve: implications in terms of prevention of cognitive aging and Alzheimer’s disease. Clinical interventions in aging, 8, 377.
Banbury Crossroads School
Seeking a school like home?
For 40 years, Banbury has offered an atmosphere where children feel safe, comfortable, and relaxed. We offer full Pre-K to Grade 12. To learn more, please schedule an appointment with us today or call Anne in the office at (403) 270-7787.
www.banburycrossroads.com
