Transcript brainagingatria

Maintaining Mental
Ability as We Grow Older
Are You an Optimist?
If you are then good news-
People who have a positive mental outlook
tend to show less decline in mental
functioning as they age.
Positive emotions
facilitate preservation of cognitive
(thinking) abilities.
It is important to distinguish
normal, age-associated mental impairment
from conditions such as dementia which
identifies a disease process.
It is important to distinguish
normal, age-associated mental impairment
from conditions such as dementia which
identifies a disease process.
Dementia includes those diseases involving nerve
cell deterioration and is defined as a loss in at least
two areas of complex behavior.
These include language, memory, visual & spatial
abilities, and judgment. Impairment must be severe
enough to interfere with a person's normal, daily
ability to function.
Research also shows that though most older people
tend to experience some memory deficiency, others
maintain a high level of cognitive functioning into
their later years.
These "successful agers," as they are sometimes
labeled, show less age-related memory loss.
They generally have higher levels of education,
stay involved in their work and spend more time
doing activities that require complex thought.
Factors known to facilitate preservation of
cognitive abilities in aging:
•maintaining good physical health,
•maintaining a cognitively challenging lifestyle,
•regular physical exercise,
•generally positive emotions and relationships,
•limiting exposure to chronic stress.
What do these studies have in
common that are clues about how to
preserve and improve mental ability
while aging?
Reading is exercise for the brain.
While reading only novels will help
you keep your brain in decent shape,
reading on serious subjects, or
reading more challenging works, will
do even more. Reading that forces
you to think about complex ideas
keeps your brain busy maintaining old
pathways and forming new ones.
What do these studies have in
common that are clues about how to
preserve and improve mental ability
while aging?
Regular physical exercise and
exposure to enriching
environments have both been
shown to boost new neuron
production in the hippocampus.
While these strategies will not
halt the decline, they may slow it
considerably.
What do these studies have in
common that are clues about how to
preserve and improve mental ability
while aging?
The sultry moves of tango dancing
can help the aging brain. Researchers
have discovered that the fancy
footwork required to perform the
tango bolsters brainpower and
improves balance.
It is Never Too Late
•It’s never too late to start.
•Studies show that the adult cortex
retains its plasticity.
New Mental Tasks and the Brain
New mental tasks increase neural connections and
help the brain become more adaptive to future
events.
New Mental Tasks and the Brain
New mental tasks increase neural connections and
help the brain become more adaptive to future
events.
You have the best chance of growing connections
between your axons and dendrites by tackling
activities that are unfamiliar to you.
New Mental Tasks and the Brain
New mental tasks increase neural connections and
help the brain become more adaptive to future
events.
You have the best chance of growing connections
between your axons and dendrites by tackling
activities that are unfamiliar to you.
One of the brain’s most basic principles:
USE IT OR LOSE IT – never too late to start
By constantly challenging you brain to learn new
things, you may develop more neural connections
that help you delay the onset of Alzheimer's
disease, recover from stroke, and live a longer life.
Brain-Based Learning
-New Concept of Brain
The brain has the ability
•T* to rewire itself,
Kotulak, Ronald, Inside the Brain, 1997
Brain-Based Learning
-New Concept of Brain
The brain has the ability
•T* to rewire itself,
•G* grow new parts from damaged
cells,
Brain-Based Learning
-New Concept of Brain
The brain has the ability
•T* to rewire itself,
•G* grow new parts from damaged
cells,
•A* and even make new cells.
This is called plasticity.
Brain-Based Learning
-Neurons
www.educ.drake.edu/romig/cogito/brain_and_mind.html
Neurons -- carry electrical charges and
make chemical connections to other
neurons
Cell Body -- contains the nucleus
Axons -- long fibers (extending from the
cell body) that transmit messages
Dendrites -- short fibers (surrounding the
cell body) that receive messages
Synapses -- tiny gaps between axons and
dendrites (with chemical bridges) that
transmit messages
Human Brain
100 billion neurons each connected to other neurons by projections known as:
Axons: way neurons pass on information (teach) and
Dendrites: way neurons get information (learn)
Each neuron has 1 axon and as many as 100,000 dendrites.
Synapses -- tiny gaps between axons and dendrites (with
chemical bridges) that transmit messages.
Learning and development occurs in the brain through the
process of strengthening and weakening theses connections.
100 trillion constantly changing connections.
Development
Interconnected Tangle of Connections
•The neuron and its thousands of neighbors send
out axons and dendrites in all directions, which
intertwine to form a tangle with 100 trillion
constantly changing connections.
Development
Interconnected Tangle of Connections
•The neuron and its thousands of neighbors send
out axons and dendrites in all directions, which
intertwine to form a tangle with 100 trillion
constantly changing connections.
•The brain is changing its connective patterns
every second of our lives in response to
everything we perceive, think and do.
Development
Interconnected Tangle of Connections
•The neuron and its thousands of neighbors send
out axons and dendrites in all directions, which
intertwine to form a tangle with 100 trillion
constantly changing connections.
•The brain is changing its connective patterns
every second of our lives in response to
everything we perceive, think and do.
•The connections guide our bodies and
behaviors, even as every thought and action we
take physically modifies their patterns.
Rewiring is possible throughout life.
Rewiring is possible throughout life.
New connections take time to form
and strengthen.
In cases where brain damage
occurs slowly, such as Alzheimer’s
disease,
•the brain has more time to
compensate,
Rewiring is possible throughout life.
New connections take time to form
and strengthen.
In cases where brain damage
occurs slowly, such as Alzheimer’s
disease,
the brain has more time to
compensate, and
•many deleterious effects can be
postponed, but not stopped.
MENTAL EXERCISE
Mental Exercise:
•Strengthens and
•Even renews neural connections,
•Keeping the brain flexible and resilient.
MENTAL EXERCISE
Mental Exercise:
•Strengthens and
•Even renews neural connections,
•Keeping the brain flexible and resilient.
PET scans show that the frontal lobes of
a twenty-five-year-old and a seventy-fiveyear-old glow equally bright after the
same memory test.
MENTAL EXERCISE
Mental Exercise:
•Strengthens and
•Even renews neural connections,
•Keeping the brain flexible and resilient.
PET scans show that the frontal lobes of
a twenty-five-year-old and a seventy-fiveyear-old glow equally bright after the
same memory test.
Decline in old age is caused primarily by
the lack of mental exercise.
Cognitively Stimulating Activities
The study, by scientists at the Rush
Alzheimer's Disease Center and RushPresbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in
Chicago, IL,
•found that more frequent participation in
cognitively stimulating activities is
associated with a reduced risk of
Alzheimer's disease (AD).
appearing in the February 13, 2002, "Journal of the American Medical Association",
www.seniors.gov/articles/0202/alzheimers-risk.htm
Cognitively Stimulating Activities
The research looked at everyday activities like
reading books, newspapers or magazines,
engaging in crosswords or card games, and
going to museums
among participants in the Religious Orders
Study, an ongoing examination of aging among
older Catholic nuns, priests, and brothers from
several groups across the U.S.
Cognitively Stimulating Activities
On a scale measuring cognitive activity –
with higher scores indicating more frequent
activity –
a one-point increase in cognitive activity
corresponded with a 33 percent reduction in
the risk of AD.
On average, compared with someone with
the lowest activity level, the risk of disease
was reduced by 47 percent among those
whose frequency of activity was highest.
Learning
Remodeling Our Brain
•We always have the ability to remodel our brains.
Learning
Remodeling Our Brain
•We always have the ability to remodel our brains.
•To change the wiring in one skill, you must
engage in some activity that is unfamiliar, novel to
you but related to that skill.
Learning
Remodeling Our Brain
•We always have the ability to remodel our brains.
•To change the wiring in one skill, you must
engage in some activity that is unfamiliar, novel to
you but related to that skill.
•Because simply repeating the same activity only
maintains already established connections.
Learning
Remodeling Our Brain
•We always have the ability to remodel our brains.
•To change the wiring in one skill, you must
engage in some activity that is unfamiliar, novel to
you but related to that skill.
•Because simply repeating the same activity only
maintains already established connections.
•Try puzzles to strengthen connections involved
with spatial skills.
•Writing to boost the language area.
•Debating to help your reasoning networks.
Mental Exercise and the Brain
•Mental exercise causes physical changes in the brain,
strengthening connections between brain cells called
synapses and actually building new connections.
Mental Exercise and the Brain
•Mental exercise causes physical changes in the brain,
strengthening connections between brain cells called
synapses and actually building new connections.
•Education and interesting work protect people against
Alzheimer’s. The more connections, the more resistant.
Mental Exercise and the Brain
•Mental exercise causes physical changes in the brain,
strengthening connections between brain cells called
synapses and actually building new connections.
•Education and interesting work protect people against
Alzheimer’s. The more connections, the more resistant.
•Below 8th grade, twice the risk of Alzheimer’s.
Mental Exercise and the Brain
•Mental exercise causes physical changes in the brain,
strengthening connections between brain cells called
synapses and actually building new connections.
•Education and interesting work protect people against
Alzheimer’s. The more connections, the more resistant.
•Below 8th grade, twice the risk of Alzheimer’s.
•Lower education and unstimulating work, 3 times the risk.
Mental Exercise and the Brain
•Mental exercise causes physical changes in the brain,
strengthening connections between brain cells called
synapses and actually building new connections.
•Education and interesting work protect people against
Alzheimer’s. The more connections, the more resistant.
•Below 8th grade, twice the risk of Alzheimer’s.
•Lower education and unstimulating work, 3 times the risk.
•The aging brain retains much the same capacity as a
child’s brain to rewire itself. Not as good at repair.
Four Factors – Mental Agility
Four factors which seem to determine mental
agility in old age:
1.Education, which appears to increase the number
and strength of connections between brain cells.
Four Factors – Mental Agility
Four factors which seem to determine mental
agility in old age:
1.Education, which appears to increase the number
and strength of connections between brain cells.
2.Strenuous exercise, which improves blood flow to
the brain.
Four Factors – Mental Agility
Exercise – doesn’t have to be strenueous
Regular exercise, including walking at an easy pace, seems to
protect the aging brain from erosion in thinking ability and
even from Alzheimer's, according to two studies released
today.
Jennifer Weuve of the Harvard School of Public Health and
her colleagues found that older women who were physically
active, including those who walked at a leisurely pace two to
three hours a week, performed much better on tests of
memory and thinking ability than inactive women.
And those who exercised more did even better: The team
found that women who were the most active for example,
those who walked at least six hours a week had a 20%
reduced risk of doing poorly on the same tests of cognitive
ability.
Four Factors – Mental Agility
Four factors which seem to determine mental
agility in old age:
1.Education, which appears to increase the number
and strength of connections between brain cells.
2.Strenuous exercise, which improves blood flow to
the brain.
3.Lung function, which makes sure the blood is
adequately oxygenated.
Four Factors – Mental Agility
Four factors which seem to determine mental
agility in old age:
1.Education, which appears to increase the number
and strength of connections between brain cells.
2.Strenuous exercise, which improves blood flow to
the brain.
3.Lung function, which makes sure the blood is
adequately oxygenated.
4.The feeling that what you do makes a difference
in your life. (Let’s add sleep!)
Physical Exercise and the Brain
•Increase the amount of blood that gets to the brain.
Physical Exercise and the Brain
•Increase the amount of blood that gets to the brain.
•Augments the number and density of blood vessels
in the areas that need them most: motor cortex and
cerebellum.
Physical Exercise and the Brain
•Increase the amount of blood that gets to the brain.
•Augments the number and density of blood vessels
in the areas that need them most: motor cortex and
cerebellum.
•Short sessions of vigorous aerobic exercise,
usually in a program that lasts for several weeks,
seem to be the most helpful for mild to clinical
depression.
Physical Exercise and the Brain
•Increase the amount of blood that gets to the brain.
•Augments the number and density of blood vessels
in the areas that need them most: motor cortex and
cerebellum.
•Short sessions of vigorous aerobic exercise,
usually in a program that lasts for several weeks,
seem to be the most helpful for mild to clinical
depression.
•Men who burned 2,500 calories a day in aerobic
activity were 28% less likely to develop clinical
depression.
Physical Exercise and the Brain
•Increase the amount of blood that gets to the brain.
•Augments the number and density of blood vessels
in the areas that need them most: motor cortex and
cerebellum.
•Short sessions of vigorous aerobic exercise,
usually in a program that lasts for several weeks,
seem to be the most helpful for mild to clinical
depression.
•Men who burned 2,500 calories a day in aerobic
activity were 28% less likely to develop clinical
depression.
•Exercise increases the neurotransmitters
(norepinephrine, dopamine & serotonin) associated
with mood, cognition, behavior and personality.
Strength Training
Recent studies have shown that even 90- to
100-year-old nursing home residents can
benefit from a regular program of strength
building exercises.
Strength Training
Benefits
•Better balance
•Faster responses.
•Reduced risk of osteoporosis.
•Improved quality of life and mental
alertness.
Strength Training
•Groups increased their muscle
strength -- ranging from 37% to 42%
during the 24-week program.
•Experienced an increase in lean body
mass compared without an increase in
fat mass.
Strength Training
Resistance exercise has been proven
to be very beneficial to elderly people.
Lifting weights
•increases strength,
•decreases body fat, and
•slows the rate of bone mineral loss,
which can delay or prevent the onset
of osteoporosis.
•Fiatarone et al. showed that even weight
training among frail elderly people who
averaged 95 years old could improve
mobility, walking speed and quality of life.
Strength Training
Participation in resistance exercise
twice, or even once, each week achieves
substantial strength gains similar to
those accomplished in a standard 3-day
per week program, and these gains are
accompanied by improved neuromuscular
performance.
Strength Training
Ten sedentary 70-year-old men were
recruited to take part in a 12-week strengthtraining program.
After training three times per week, the men
had increased their muscle size and
strength by 50 percent.
WALKING BOOSTS BRAINPOWER
Sedentary adults, 60-75 years of age started
walking briskly three times a week,
gradually increasing the length from 15 to 45
minutes.
After six months, their mental function
improved by 15%.
[Bottom Line Health 14:7 2000]
http://www2.inhis.com/Womens/wellness/letter52.asp
Vigorous Walking
A new study suggests that taking an
invigorating walk gives older people's
brains a good workout,
•boosting memory and
•sharpening judgment.
Physical Exercise and the Brain
Exercises that involve complex movements cause
more connections to grow between neurons.
A User’s Guide to the Brain – John Ratey M.D.
Physical Exercise and the Brain
Exercises that involve complex movements cause
more connections to grow between neurons.
Exercise that focuses on balance and coordination
strengthen neural networks in the cerebellum.
Physical Exercise and the Brain
Exercises that involve complex movements cause
more connections to grow between neurons.
Exercise that focuses on balance and coordination
strengthen neural networks in the cerebellum.
They also affect the basal ganglia and corpus
callosum, sharpening memory and increasing
capacity to master new information.
Physical Exercise and the Brain
Exercises that involve complex movements cause
more connections to grow between neurons.
Exercise that focuses on balance and coordination
strengthen neural networks in the cerebellum.
They also affect the basal ganglia and corpus
callosum, sharpening memory and increasing
capacity to master new information.
Part of the reason for the generalized slowing down
effect as we age is that the body becomes less
efficient at delivering nutrients to the brain. Exercise
gets more nutrients to the brain.
Physical Exercise and the Brain
Exercises that involve complex movements cause
more connections to grow between neurons.
Exercise that focuses on balance and coordination
strengthen neural networks in the cerebellum.
They also affect the basal ganglia and corpus
callosum, sharpening memory and increasing
capacity to master new information.
Part of the reason for the generalized slowing down
effect as we age is that the body becomes less
efficient at delivering nutrients to the brain. Exercise
gets more nutrients to the brain.
Older men who stay in shape do better on mental
tests.
Movement and the Brain
Motor function is crucial to all the other brain functions,
including memory, emotion, language, and learning.
Movement and the Brain
Motor function is crucial to all the other brain functions,
including memory, emotion, language, and learning.
The many connections between motor and cognitive
functions suggests that any sort of physical activity can
improve our motor function and therefore our cognition.
Movement and the Brain
Motor function is crucial to all the other brain functions,
including memory, emotion, language, and learning.
The many connections between motor and cognitive
functions suggests that any sort of physical activity can
improve our motor function and therefore our cognition.
The reason is that the primary motor cortex, basal ganglia,
and cerebellum, which coordinate physical movement, also
coordinate the movement of thought.
Movement and the Brain
Motor function is crucial to all the other brain functions,
including memory, emotion, language, and learning.
The many connections between motor and cognitive
functions suggests that any sort of physical activity can
improve our motor function and therefore our cognition.
The reason is that the primary motor cortex, basal ganglia,
and cerebellum, which coordinate physical movement, also
coordinate the movement of thought.
Fundamental motions like walking and running trigger the
most deeply ingrained neural firing patterns in these brain
regions.
Movement and the Brain
Motor function is crucial to all the other brain functions,
including memory, emotion, language, and learning.
The many connections between motor and cognitive
functions suggests that any sort of physical activity can
improve our motor function and therefore our cognition.
The reason is that the primary motor cortex, basal ganglia,
and cerebellum, which coordinate physical movement, also
coordinate the movement of thought.
Fundamental motions like walking and running trigger the
most deeply ingrained neural firing patterns in these brain
regions.
To improve our brains, we need to move our bodies.
Brain-Based Learning
Application

Movement and Oxygen
•We all breathe the same air, but we all don’t have the
same oxygen-carrying capacity to our brains.
•Physical activity increases the flow of oxygen to the
brain, and non-repetitive movements such as those
often found in dance, gymnastics, or martial arts
• have surprising positive effects on academic
performance, especially on spelling ability and
reading comprehension.
http://thunder1.cudenver.edu//OTE/nn/vol9/9_1.htm
Music
•When stroke or dementia
compromise faculties as basic as
language and movement, life can
spiral downward into lonely isolation.
www.dana.org/books/press/cerebrum/winter02/index.cfm
Music
•When stroke or dementia
compromise faculties as basic as
language and movement, life can
spiral downward into lonely isolation.
•Music is proving to be an exceedingly
complex stimulus that may bypass
damaged higher brain centers to stir
underlying sources of motor control,
memory, and emotion.
Music
•Just as rhythm can affect motor
function and the initiation of movement,
Music
•Just as rhythm can affect motor
function and the initiation of movement,
•a familiar tune or melody can
reawaken in persons with dementia, or
with traumatic brain injury, seemingly
lost memories and feelings.
Music
•Imagine how the world must seem to
someone with no memory link from past
to present.
Music
•Imagine how the world must seem to
someone with no memory link from past
to present.
•But sometimes music can provide a
bridge.
Music
•Imagine how the world must seem to
someone with no memory link from past
to present.
•But sometimes music can provide a
bridge.
•Just as there is no such thing as
impersonal perception and impersonal
experience, there is no impersonal
memory.
Music
•Imagine how the world must seem to
someone with no memory link from past
to present.
•But sometimes music can provide a
bridge.
•Just as there is no such thing as
impersonal perception and impersonal
experience, there is no impersonal
memory.
•Thus, familiar songs may serve as cues
to recall memories.
Meditation and the Brain
•The body has a physical reaction to this altered
state of consciousness.
Meditation and the Brain
•The body has a physical reaction to this altered
state of consciousness.
•Sympathetic nervous system activity decreases
Meditation and the Brain
•The body has a physical reaction to this altered
state of consciousness.
•Sympathetic nervous system activity decreases
•Metabolism slows down
Meditation and the Brain
•The body has a physical reaction to this altered
state of consciousness.
•Sympathetic nervous system activity decreases
•Metabolism slows down
•Heart rate, blood pressure and breathing rates fall
Meditation and the Brain
•The body has a physical reaction to this altered
state of consciousness.
•Sympathetic nervous system activity decreases
•Metabolism slows down
•Heart rate, blood pressure and breathing rates fall
•Electrical skin conductance decreases
Meditation and the Brain
•The body has a physical reaction to this altered
state of consciousness.
•Sympathetic nervous system activity decreases
•Metabolism slows down
•Heart rate, blood pressure and breathing rates fall
•Electrical skin conductance decreases
•Blood flow decreases
Meditation and the Brain
•The body has a physical reaction to this altered
state of consciousness.
•Sympathetic nervous system activity decreases
•Metabolism slows down
•Heart rate, blood pressure and breathing rates fall
•Electrical skin conductance decreases
•Blood flow decreases
•Relieve chronic pain and migraines
Meditation and the Brain
•The body has a physical reaction to this altered
state of consciousness.
•Sympathetic nervous system activity decreases
•Metabolism slows down
•Heart rate, blood pressure and breathing rates fall
•Electrical skin conductance decreases
•Blood flow decreases
•Relieve chronic pain and migraines
•Soothe depression and anxiety
Meditation and the Brain
•The body has a physical reaction to this altered
state of consciousness.
•Sympathetic nervous system activity decreases
•Metabolism slows down
•Heart rate, blood pressure and breathing rates fall
•Electrical skin conductance decreases
•Blood flow decreases
•Relieve chronic pain and migraines
•Soothe depression and anxiety
•Brain’s own electrical activity: large numbers of
neurons fire in a pleasing synchrony.
Meditation and the Brain
– Relaxation Response
Reduced stress and anxiety.
Improved Mental Abilities:
Increased intelligence, increased creativity,
improved learning ability, improved memory,
improved reaction time, higher levels of moral
reasoning, improved academic achievement,
greater orderliness of brain functioning, increased
self-actualization.
Improved Health:
There are many activities that can produce the
Relaxation Response.
http://tm.org/charts/chart_08.html
Brain-Based Learning
Application

Dehydration
The brain is more than 80% water. In 1995,
neurophysiologist C. Hannaford noted that
poor learning performance can often be traced simply
to mild dehydration.
http://thunder1.cudenver.edu//OTE/nn/vol9/9_1.htm
Learning- Ability to Adjust Perception
What Happens During New
Experiences?
The brain needs to predict, in order to fill in the gaps
between fragments of images we see, is also the very
reason we are prone to visual illusions.
A User’s Guide to the Brain – John Ratey M.D.
Brain-Based Learning
Application

Emotional Intelligence
The emotional center of the human brain is located in
the limbic system.
.
Dryden and Vos say the emotional center of the brain
is closely linked with our long-term memory storage
systems. That's why we all remember easiest any
information with a high emotional content..
.
Gordon Dryden and Dr. Jeannette Vos, in the world's biggest-selling non-fiction book for 1999, The
Learning Revolution
Brain-Based Learning
Application

Emotions -Patterning
Emotions Are Critical To Patterning.
We do not simply learn things. What we learn is
influenced and organized by emotions and mind sets
based on expectancy, personal biases and
prejudices, degree of self-esteem, and the need for
social interaction. Emotions and thoughts literally
shape each other and cannot be separated.
www.unocoe.unomaha.edu/brainbased.htm
Brain-Based Learning
Application

Emotions –Interest, Sense of Importance
Bob Leamnson (1999, Thinking About Teaching
and Learning: Stylus Pub., 169 p.) notes the
importance of engaged emotions to learning. When
brains are stimulated by interest and sense of
importance, learning is easier to achieve.
http://thunder1.cudenver.edu//OTE/nn/vol9/9_2.html
Brain-Based Learning
Application

Stress
Environmental factors are the key ingredients of
optimal learning.
For example, studies point to the effects of stress on
learning. “When we feel stressed, our adrenal glands
release a peptide called cortisol. Our body responds
with cortisol whether it faces physical, environmental,
academic, or emotional danger. This triggers a string
of physical reactions including depression of the
immune system, tensing of the large muscles, bloodclotting, and increasing blood pressure.
www.kcet.org/education/brainatwork/proceedings_review.htm
SNOWDEN”S CONCLUSIONS
•Any intellectually challenging activity
stimulates dendritic growth,
which adds to the neural connections in
the brain.
SNOWDEN”S CONCLUSIONS
•Any intellectually challenging activity
stimulates dendritic growth,
which adds to the neural connections in
the brain.
•The more mentally challenged sisters
has more neural connections,
which allows them to reroute messages
to the brain.
SNOWDEN”S CONCLUSIONS
•Any intellectually challenging activity
stimulates dendritic growth,
which adds to the neural connections in
the brain.
•The more mentally challenged sisters
had more neural connections,
which allows them to reroute messages
to the brain.
•Counteracting the debilitating effects
on the brain of dementia and
Alzheimer’s.
Resisting Alzheimer’s Disease
Nun Example
Snowden found: nuns lived longer and
resisted Alzheimer's disease if:
•Earned college degrees
•Taught school
•Constantly challenged minds in to old
age
Intellectual Stimulation
- Nun Example
May play a role in preventing brain
disease.
Intellectual Stimulation
- Nun Example
May play a role in preventing brain
disease.
This provides a bigger backup system
if some pathways fail.
Intellectual Stimulation
- Nun Example
•May play a role in preventing brain
disease.
•This provides a bigger backup system
if some pathways fail.
•Snowden maintains that the axons and
dendrites that usually shrink with age
branch out and make new connections
if there is enough intellectual
stimulation.
Learning
Challenge Our Brain – Nun Example
David Snowdon –
School Sisters of Notre Dame, Mankota Hill, Minn.
Time, The Nun Study, May 14, 2001
Learning
Challenge Our Brain – Nun Example
David Snowdon –
School Sisters of Notre Dame, Mankota Hill, Minn.
Scientist had shown that the physical destruction
wrought by Alzheimer’s didn’t inevitably lead to
mental deterioration.
Learning
Challenge Our Brain – Nun Example
David Snowdon –
School Sisters of Notre Dame, Mankota Hill, Minn.
Scientist had shown that the physical destruction
wrought by Alzheimer’s didn’t inevitably lead to
mental deterioration.
Theory: some folks might have an extra reserve of
mental capacity that kept them functioning despite
loss of brain tissue.
Sisters with less education had smaller brains at
death.
Learning
Challenge Our Brain – Nun Example
Study: Analyze the autobiographies for evidence of extra
brain capacity.
Time, The Nun Study, May 14, 2001
Learning
Challenge Our Brain – Nun Example
Study: Analyze the autobiographies for evidence of extra
brain capacity.
Language usage- “idea density” indicator of education level,
vocabulary and general knowledge.
Learning
Challenge Our Brain – Nun Example
Study: Analyze the autobiographies for evidence of extra
brain capacity.
Language usage- “idea density” indicator of education level,
vocabulary and general knowledge.
•GGrammatical complexity was an indicator of how well
memory is functioning.
Learning
Challenge Our Brain – Nun Example
Study: Analyze the autobiographies for evidence of extra
brain capacity.
Language usage- “idea density” indicator of education level,
vocabulary and general knowledge.
•Grammatical complexity was an indicator of how well
memory is functioning.
•Sisters who showed signs of Alzheimer’s had consistently
authored essays low in both idea density and grammatical
complexity 60 years earlier.
Learning
Challenge Our Brain – Nun Example
Idea density is a powerful predictor of Alzheimer’s disease.
•Snowdon can predict with 85% to 90% accuracy from
writings 60 years earlier.
Learning
Challenge Our Brain – Nun Example
Idea density is a powerful predictor of Alzheimer’s disease.
•Snowdon can predict with 85% to 90% accuracy from
writings 60 years earlier.
•Snowdon maintains that the axions and dendrites that
usually shrink with age branch out and make new
connections if there is enough intellectual stimulation,
providing a bigger backup system if pathways fail.
Learning
Challenge Our Brain – Nun Example
Sister Bernadette, who had shown no outward signs of
Alzheimer’s and whose youthful autobiography was rich
with ideas and grammatical complexity, turned out at death
to be riddled with the plaques and tangles of Alzheimer’s
The Principle is “Use It or Lose It”
•The human brain’s amazing plasticity
enables it to continually rewire and
learning• not just through academic study, but
through experience, thought, action, and
emotion.
A User’s Guide to the Brain – John Ratey M.D.
The Principle is “Use It or Lose It”
•The human brain’s amazing plasticity
enables it to continually rewire and learnnot just through academic study, but
through experience, thought, action, and
emotion.
•We can strengthen our neural pathways
with brain exercise.
Use It or Lose It
Brain is a Dynamic Ecosysystem
•The various neurons and networks are
engaged in fierce competition for
incoming stimuli.
Use It or Lose It
Brain is a Dynamic Ecosysystem
•The various neurons and networks are
engaged in fierce competition for
incoming stimuli.
•Networks that succeed in processing
new experiences or behaviors end up as
strong, permanent members of the
neuronal neighborhood.
Use It or Lose It
Brain is a Dynamic Ecosysystem
•The various neurons and networks are
engaged in fierce competition for
incoming stimuli.
•Networks that succeed in processing
new experiences or behaviors end up as
strong, permanent members of the
neuronal neighborhood.
•While unused networks, cut off from the
ebb and flow of information, wither away
and die.