07/02/2009 - 2:34am

Not Just Cognitive Skills- Remaining Socially Active Keep Your Motor Skills Sharp As Well

Being socially active is a well recognized key to remaining cognitively sharp into old age. Older people who remain socially engaged are more likely to maintain their cognitive skills vital as they grow older. Recent research suggests that people who remain socially active may better maintain their physical skills as they age as well. Socially active people experience lower rates of decline in their motor skills such as strength, speed and dexterity.

06/15/2009 - 4:43am

A genetic link to brain aging

The Journal of Neuroscience recently published what might be the next big step in identifying and perhaps stopping dementia. Scientists at the University of Toronto identified a gene that controls the normal and pathological aging of neurons in the central nervous system: it’s called Bmi1.

06/04/2009 - 10:44am

Question: What's the connection between red wine, mole rats and the US Army?

Answer: Aging- or more accurately anti-aging.

Let's start at the beginning.

Just like every other business, team or enterprise, the US Army would like its people to stay young forever. After years of training and acquiring skills and wisdom, troops have to retire because of a decrease in physical/ cognitive abilities. If troops could stay younger for longer, then the training would be more cost effective.

05/07/2009 - 3:21am

Cognitive reserve and how it can help us age well

Does aging always have to be accompanied by declining physical and mental abilities? Not necessarily. In recent years, circumstantial evidence has been building about how training your brain with stimulating activities can help compensate for the changes that occur with age. Brain training may also allow people to avoid mild cognitive impairment or symptoms of Alzheimer's for far longer than others who haven’t taken the opportunity to make their brains more adaptable and agile through regular mental exercise.

05/05/2009 - 5:55am

Is aging just a figment of your imagination?

We often think about the consequences of aging as inevitable. But Harvard University psychologist Ellen Langer claims in her book Counterclockwise that we are all victims of our own stereotypes about aging and health. She says that we mindlessly accept negative cultural cues about disease and old age, and these cues shape our self-concepts and our behavior. But according to her theory, we can shake loose from the negative clichés that dominate our thinking about health, we can "mindfully" open ourselves to possibilities for more productive lives even into old age.

03/09/2009 - 10:16am

Reversing Age-Related Cognitive Decline

I’ve noticed that as people begin to experience age-related cognitive decline, they naturally start wondering about how much of it is normal and how much is reversible. Well, the bad news is that it’s inevitable and perfectly normal, and the good news is that you can do something about it.

03/08/2009 - 10:17am

Neuroplasticity Defined

One of the words you may come across when reading about the possibility of reversing age-related cognitive decline is “neuroplasticity.” If you’re interested in understanding brain fitness, it is important to understand exactly what it means.

12/09/2008 - 7:52pm

The Best Time to Start Brain Training

Many people wonder if there is an optimal age to begin brain fitness training.

I think that it’s never too early to start a brain fitness program. It is better to be proactive than reactive, and you don't have to wait for the first signs of age-related cognitive decline in order to start your mental workouts.