That's the basic question and most important conclusions reported in a recent article in Newsweek magazine, "Can You Build a Better Brain?" But in arriving there, it also offers a lot more useful information on what may also help in some ways, and what will not. And it expands on the how and why of those conclusions.
* * * * * * * * * *
It doesn't seem to matter who we are. You could be 64, as I am, and concerned that the natural loss of some memory is the early warning sign of approaching Alzheimer's or dementia; you could even be one of those in their 50s (for some, even their late 40s) who are for the first time experiencing difficulty recalling names, dates, or events with the same ease. Then too, you could be among those college students trying to cram for tests, or young professionals trying to get a leg up on the competition. You could be anyone who just wants to be as healthy, able and high functioning as your genetic prescriptions and predispositions allow. And the function of our brains does tend to start deteriorating as early as our 20s. So, almost everyone would just as soon be a little smarter, have faster recall of more memories, and think and analyze a little faster, a little better. It's only natural.
And there have been a lot of ideas about how to do that over the years. When I was in college it was about cramming and short-term recall. It was about "bennies" and "speed" (Benzedrine, and other amphetamines), and for those seeking more exotic, "awareness-enhancing" experiences and possibilities, there were the psychedelic drugs. Decades later, it would be Ritalin and Adderall to help attention and focus. Nicotine and caffeine, yes, those too. More recently, there has been a lot written about exercising the mind, especially for we aging folks: verbal and math puzzles and games, studying a new language, that kind of thing. And then there have always been those who have rightly advocated a holistic regimen of good diet, exercise and sleep--always part of a healthy prescription for any aspect of healthful living and performance.
According to the article, research has found no evidence to support the use of most vitamins and herbs, that kind of thing. But there were important specific findings about factors that make a real difference, and what causes that to be broader or more limited in effect. From the article:
One of the strongest findings in the science of how the brain changes its structure and function in response to input is that attention is almost magical in its ability to physically alter the brain and enlarge functional circuits. In a classic experiment, scientists found that when monkeys repeatedly practiced fine-tactile perception, the relevant brain region expanded, just as it does when people learn Braille or the violin. Similarly, a region of the auditory cortex expands when we hear a particular tone over and over...[But] identical input—tactile sensations and sounds—produces a different result, expanding a brain area or not, depending only on whether attention is being paid.
That might explain why skills we're already good at don't make us much smarter: we don't pay much attention to them. In contrast, taking up a new, cognitively demanding activity—ballroom dancing, a foreign language—is more likely to boost processing speed, strengthen synapses, and expand or create functional networks.
By nailing down the underpinnings of cognition, neuroscientists can separate plausible brain boosters from dubious ones. With apologies to the political-correctness police, nicotine enhances attention and cognitive performance in both smokers and nonsmokers. Nicotine, they found, has "significant positive effects" on fine motor skills, the accuracy of short-term memory, some forms of attention, and working memory, among other basic cognitive skills. The improvements "likely represent true performance enhancement" and "beneficial cognitive effects." The reason is that nicotine binds to the brain receptors for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine that are central players in cortical circuits. (Caveat: smoking also increases your risk of dementia, so while cigarettes may boost your memory and attention now, you could pay for it later. To be determined: whether a nicotine patch delivers the benefits without the risks.)
And what about Ritalin and Adderall?
Neuroscience supports the cognitive benefits of stimulants like Adderall and Ritalin, too, at least in some people for some tasks. Both drugs (as well as caffeine) raise the brain levels of dopamine, the juice that produces motivation and the feeling of reward. On balance, finds psychologist Martha Farah of the University of Pennsylvania, studies show that both drugs enhance the recall of memorized words as well as working memory (the brain's scratchpad, which plays a key role in fluid intelligence). They do not improve verbal fluency, reasoning, or abstract thought, however, nor provide much benefit to people with a gene variant that keeps dopamine activity high, Farah found in a recent study.
These limitations suggest two things. First, if you're naturally awash in dopamine and are highly motivated, then increasing dopamine levels pharmacologically is unlikely to help. [And] no difference was found between the performance of volunteers given Adderall and volunteers given a placebo on a battery of cognitive tasks, suggesting that you can get the same dopamine-boosting benefits of the drug by simply believing that you'll do well, which itself releases dopamine. Second, the divide between the mental functions that drugs do and don't improve suggests that psychological factors such as motivation and reward help with memory, but not higher-order processes such as abstract thought.
So what findings and axioms about "higher order" cognitive skills and abstract thought have been found reliable across all the research?
[T]he more you use a circuit, the stronger it gets. As a result, a skill you focus and train on improves, and even commandeers more neuronal real estate, with corresponding improvements in performance...The rule that "neurons that fire together, wire together" suggests that cognitive training should boost mental prowess. Studies are finding just that, but with a crucial caveat. Training your memory, reasoning, or speed of processing improves that skill...Unfortunately, there is no transfer: improving processing speed does not improve memory, and improving memory does not improve reasoning. Similarly, doing crossword puzzles will improve your ability to?...do crosswords.
So let's cut to the chase here. What are the best, most reliable, healthiest approaches to bringing home the whole cognitive package: memory, cognitive speed, reasoning, abstract thought? What training or experience does transfer? And why?
The holy grail of brain training is something that does transfer, and here there are three good candidates.
The first is physical exercise. Simple aerobic exercise, such as walking 45 minutes a day three times a week, improves episodic memory and executive-control functions by about 20 percent. His studies have mostly been done in older adults, so it's possible the results apply only to people whose brain physiology has begun to deteriorate—except that that happens starting in our 20s. Exercise gooses the creation of new neurons in the region of the hippocampus that files away experiences and new knowledge. It also stimulates the production of neuron fertilizers such as BDNF, as well as of the neurotransmitters that carry brain signals, and of gray matter in the prefrontal cortex. Exercise stimulates the production of new synapses, the connections that constitute functional circuits and whose capacity and efficiency underlie superior intelligence. Kramer finds that a year of exercise can give a 70-year-old the connectivity of a 30-year-old, improving memory, planning, dealing with ambiguity, and multitasking. "You can think of fitness training as changing the molecular and cellular building blocks that underlie many cognitive skills," he says. "It thus provides more generalizable benefits than specifically training memory or decision making." [Wow. I'm motivated. I can feel the dopamine flowing.]
The second form of overall mental training is meditation, which can increase the thickness of regions that control attention and process sensory signals from the outside world. In a program that neuroscientist Amishi Jha of the University of Miami calls mindfulness-based mind-fitness training, participants build concentration by focusing on one object, such as a particular body sensation. The training, she says, has shown success in enhancing mental agility and attention "by changing brain structure and function so that brain processes are more efficient," the quality associated with higher intelligence. [The reference here may be to an approach that borrows from the meditation practices of Vietnamese Zen monk Thich Nhat Hanh (Peace is Every Step) or Bhante Henepola Gunaratana (Mindfulness, in Plain English), practices which stress Buddhist "mindfulness".]
Finally, some video games might improve general mental agility.
Stern has trained older adults to play a complex computer-based action game called Space Fortress, which requires players to shoot missiles and destroy the fortress while protecting their spaceship against missiles and mines. "It requires motor control, visual search, working memory, long-term memory, and decision making," he says. It also requires that elixir of neuroplasticity: attention, specifically the ability to control and switch attention among different tasks. "People get better on tests of memory, motor speed, visual-spatial skills, and tasks requiring cognitive flexibility," says Stern. Kramer, too, finds that the strategy-heavy videogame Rise of Nations improves executive-control functions such as task switching, working memory, visual short-term memory, and reasoning in older adults.
My son, Adam, an expert, competitive video game player since his youth is likely smiling, perhaps smugly--and with justification. Dad was often luke-warm at best about the time he invested in that pastime. The fact that he now also adhere's to a disciplined regiment of aerobic exercise, mindfullness meditation, and a healthy, vegetable-dominated diet, could appear to make the scorecard read Adam-3, Dad-0. But that's not totally true.Few games or training programs have been tested to this extent, and many of those that have been come up short. Those with increasing levels of difficulty and intense demands on attentional capacity—focus as well as switching—probably do the most good … as does taking a brisk walk in between levels.
Adam outscores me 3-0 on personal initiative and discipline. But what's also true is that you can teach an old dog new tricks. And what I can feel really good about is how informative and encouraging Adam has been about my own exercise program, healthier diet, and regular meditation, although mine is more faith-driven and informed. So yes, the father can also learn from the son--if he's smart enough, that is.
(Although, I am still slow down the learning curve on the video games. No, I'm not even on the curve! Two out of three is still pretty good. Don't you think?)
http://www.newsweek.com/2011/01/03/can-you-build-a-better-brain.html
No comments:
Post a Comment