Old age and mental health
Alzheimer's and Parkinson's are brain diseases in old age. Can they be overcome? The good news is that just as the environment and our own behavior shape the brain at a young age, so too at an older age.
A unique experiment in the United States has been called the Religious Orders Study. 1100 priests, nuns and brothers are taking part in it. To find out what difference the brain makes with age. How do people get older?
The advantage of choosing this group is that they have a lot in common with their lifestyle. Food, education and living standards are the same. This makes it easier to minimize other factors.
The experiment began in 1994. So far, Dr. David Bennett's team at Rush University in Chicago has been carefully collecting and analyzing his record. Psychological, physical, cognitive and genetic tests are performed on them every year.
When the team began their work, they thought they would find a direct link between mental retardation and three common diseases, Alzheimer's, stroke and Parkinson's. But that did not happen. People whose brain tissue was eaten with Alzheimer's did not necessarily mean they had brain problems. Many people with Alzheimer's pathology all their lives did not show any mental decline.
The team began looking for clues back in the dataset. To see why. It had to do with keeping the mind busy. Those who do more exercises in which he has to renew. Solving puzzles, reading books, learning new skills, taking responsibility protected him. Similarly, social activities such as socializing more than others, social networks and then physical activity saved the mind from degeneration.
In contrast, the factors that played a negative role were loneliness, anxiety and stress, which quickly degrade mental output.
Positive factors included sense of duty, having a purpose in life, and engagement.
The people who had the disease in the neural tissue but had no effect on its output were the ones who had created the "Cognitive Reserve". In other words, some parts of the brain had a disease, but other parts were healthier due to good exercise and they had taken over this function. As much as we keep the mind fit, by giving it difficult and challenging tasks, through social interactions with others, new highways open up in the neural network from one point to another.
Think of the brain as a toolbox here. If there is a screw to open, it will open with a plus. If no plus is found, another device will be removed. A sick brain that has a backup will also be able to give a good output.
The brains of these priests and nuns show that it is possible to protect the brain for a long time. We can't stop it from aging, but by filling our toolbox with new tools, we can increase the chances of having the tools to unravel this world for a long time.
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