Scientists studing “cognitive reserve” [resources for withstanding brain aging], are seeking methods for improving brain health:
Physical exercise is the best-proven prescription so far, the scientists agreed. Memory improved when 72-year-olds started a walking program three days a week, and sophisticated scans showed their brains’ activity patterns started resembling those of younger people…
Then there’s the “use-it-or-lose-it” theory, that people with higher education, more challenging occupations and enriched social lives build more cognitive reserve than couch potatoes.
Everything from doing crossword puzzles to various computer-based brain-training programs has been touted, but nothing is yet proven to work [while] animal studies suggesting low-dose estrogen and drugs that might mimic or ramp up brain signaling are promising possibilities. [via Wired News]
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