Landmark results from neuroscience research are debunking yet another myth about aging – that the brain continually loses cells and naturally dims with age.

On the contrary, recent studies show that if we continue to challenge our minds and stimulate our creativity, we not only feel better, we also cause our brains to sprout new branches, or dendrites. These new branches actually improve brain function and help compensate for the small loss of brain cells that comes with age.

In effect, the aging brain responds to mental exercise in much the same way that muscle responds to physical exercise.

In his new book, The Creative Age: Awakening Human Potential in the Second Half of Life, world-renowned psychiatrist and gerontologist Gene Cohen shares the latest findings in brain and aging research, and offers a plan for leading a creative and fulfilling life well beyond retirement.

For those who don’t think they have creative potential, Dr. Cohen emphasizes that creativity is not just for geniuses. One does not have to be born with inherited talent or raised in a special environment to be creative. It is universal. He calls it “an equal opportunity attribute.”

Dr. Cohen makes a distinction between creativity with a “big C” and creativity with a “little c.” He defines “big C” creativity as extraordinary accomplishments of unusual people, such as renowned artists, scientists and inventors. Creativity with a “little c” refers to personal creativity, grounded in the various and sundry realities of life. It is something one has brought into being and which has enhanced one’s life and given satisfaction. It could be a new recipe, a floral arrangement, a letter or poem that you wrote, or a new trick you taught your dog. Both dimensions of creativity are valuable, and both continue throughout the human life cycle, independent of age.

Read the rest of this article to learn how to keep your brain young: Think Young! Get Creative!

In a study published in The Journals of Gerontology (Medical Sciences), researchers found that a brain fitness program measured initially for its impact on cognitive abilities in older adults also had a significant beneficial impact on symptoms of depression.

The findings are part of an ongoing study of older Americans funded by the National Institutes of Health and known as the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study. With 2,832 participants, the ACTIVE study is the largest community-based multi-site randomized controlled trial ever conducted that focuses on maintaining or improving cognitive abilities of older people.
Read the rest of this article at:Brain Fitness

Scientists have made a significant step forward in developing a test to help diagnose the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease sooner and more accurately by measuring two biomarkers — tau and beta-amyloid proteins — in cerebrospinal fluid. In a new report, researchers from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) not only confirmed that certain changes in biomarker levels in cerebrospinal fluid may signal the onset of mild Alzheimer’s, but also established a method and standard of testing for these biomarkers. ADNI is a research partnership supported primarily by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health, with private sector support through the Foundation for NIH, seeking to find neuroimaging and biomarker tests that can detect Alzheimer’s disease progression and measure the effectiveness of potential therapies.

Continue reading this article by following the link: Biomarker Testing for Alzheimer’s

Until now, scientists have been uncertain exactly how Alzheimer’s disease kills brain cells, causing debate among researchers. The results of a new study show how amyloid plaques, found in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients, cause brain cells to die.

Researchers from University of Michigan and the University of California, San Diego were able to observe spikes in electrical currents across artificial cell membranes and in the membranes of live human cancer cells in the presence of the amyloid-beta peptide. What that told the scientists is that amyloid peptides poke holes in the cell membranes, allowing influx of calcium. Prior to the current research, it was believed that amyloid peptides thinned the cell membranes, producing calcium ion fluctuations. When ions become imbalanced, cell death results.
Want to know more? Read the rest of this article at: Alzheimer’s Disease Discovery

Ever lose your car in a parking garage? Forget the name of your best friend’s husband? Walk into a room and forget why you’re there? Relax. It’s probably not Alzheimer’s. These annoying little lapses, what many of us refer to as “senior moments,” are a normal part of aging. They may start in your 30s or 40s and become problematic or worrisome in your 50s and 60s.

The good news is there are many things you can do to improve brain power, but it does require effort and discipline.
Want to learn more? Read the rest of this article at: Exercise Your Brain

Quick: What’s the capital of Idaho? The name of your new neighbor? Not a clue? Maybe your brain needs a gym. At least that’s what a growing number of mental exercise systems aim to provide.

It’s no wonder we’re flocking to tune up our craniums – the estimated odds of developing dementia after age 85 are a scary one in two. And long before that, most of us notice that the name of that nice wine you sampled last night is as elusive as a good deal on health insurance.

The brain-training movement promises to help you not just find the spare garage opener or remember who won the 1988 World Series (the Dodgers), it could protect you against Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of age-related dementia.
Read the rest of this article: Keep Your Memory

In September of 2008, Haile Gebrselassie set a new world record for the marathon of 2 hours 3 minutes and 59 seconds; he improved on his own previous world best by 27 seconds. An amazing achievement. Between 1952 and 1954, James Peters of the United Kingdom set no less than four world best marathon times reducing his time by more than 3 minutes. But his best time of 2 hours 17 minutes and 40 seconds in 1954 would have left him trailing Gebrselassie by almost three miles. This doesn’t detract from Peters’ considerable achievements in distance running, but it does indicate how much more we know today about the ways and means of physical training and conditioning.

In much the same way, we’re now beginning to see serious attention given to brain training as a mechanism for reaching and maintaining optimal mental condition. As the data from academic research and field studies mounts, it becomes clear that brain training can provide a broad range of benefits – providing worthwhile results in everything from senior brain health to childhood education.
To read about the different types of brain training this article confronts, follow the link: Brain Training Benefits