To keep our memory and learning abilities strong we need an abundance of dendrites on our brain cells. Good sized dendritic networks indicate a healthy, well-functioning brain. Disrupted dendrite growth is seen in the brains of people with autism and schizophrenia. So it’s pretty clear which kind of network you want. If we can promote [...]
Some people have the misfortune of experiencing a rare mutation in a gene called presenelin 1, which causes early memory loss. Presenelin 1 triggers memory loss in people as young as 40 and develops into full blown Alzheimer's by the late 40s, inflicting death by age 60, or thereabouts. Scientists discovered the group of people [...]
I don’t think a lot of people are aware of what a major factor head injuries are in making you susceptible to dementia. The public probably has some awareness of the problem because it’s now known that pro football players – and even high school and college athletes – can get dementia decades later because [...]
Your thinking may slow down as you get older, but just as exercise can work wonders for your physical health, a regular workout can boost your brain, too. In fact, the latest research reveals mental exercise heightens memory so much, seniors can go head to head with those 50 years their junior in mental recall. [...]
If you want a brain that quickly learns new information, remembers things easily and helps you cope with the problems of daily life, you need a well-connected brain. What do I mean by that? I mean the brain's neurons need to arrange themselves in a wide variety of neural networks linked up for quick communication [...]
A single symptom affects a high proportion of patients with all forms of dementia. In fact, it's been described as the most common neuropsychiatric symptom of dementia, with a bigger impact on function than memory loss. Apathy – meaning a lack of motivation or loss of initiative – can be an early warning sign and [...]
As if they weren’t troublesome enough, migraines – those crippling, high-octane headaches – may also raise your risk of cognitive decline. Canadian researchers have found a link between migraines and dementia. But don’t panic just yet. Let’s first get a better understanding of this painful enemy and then unpack the findings of the newest study1. [...]
"When you are just getting out and interacting with people, you are using your brain a lot." So says Claudia Kawas, Professor of Neurology at the University of California, Irvine. She strongly suggests we speak to as many people outside of our own households as often as we can. There's a lot of evidence to [...]
If you are a frequent reader of this publication, you’ve seen articles urging you to learn a new skill to keep your brain young. The benefits are huge, especially for working memory. Learning a new language or mastering a musical instrument are good examples. “In addition to making existing synapses more robust, learning causes the [...]
When it comes to treating somebody who is just beginning to suffer Alzheimer’s disease, the conventional medicine folks have a big problem. They don’t know how the disease starts. So they can’t catch it at an early stage. In fact, 20 years ago when my mother was developing dementia, her doctor didn’t know a thing [...]
