The aging brain - news on reversing memory loss

- Thu, 18 Oct 2007

If you thought your mind was in peak shape until middle age think again. Loss of memory cells in the brain begins in early adulthood according to a new study at Princeton University. The news may seem depressing at first but it holds promise that scientists are on their way to finding how to halt the decline and even boost production of fresh memory cells.

The study was the first memory study conducted on monkeys, who come from the same biological order that contains humans. (Previous studies have involved mice). The scientists discovered that the adult brain undergoes significant structural changes to adapt and work around this decline in memory cells.  "Whatever stimulates these changes can most likely be tapped into and enhanced," Elizabeth Gould, professor of psychology  and co-director of the Program in Neuroscience told Science Daily. "We'd like to do more studies to see if we can find out first what maintains the higher level of neurogenesis [production of new memory cells] in young animals, and then how we can keep it going at that level as the brain ages."

But she also noted that neurogenesis can be stimulated at any age by new experiences. Brain exercises are a widely recognised way of providing the fresh mental challenges that  keep our brain performing at peak level as we age. At HeadStrong Cognitive Fitness, the world's leading supplier of software brain training exercises, the tasks have been developed by a neuropsychologist specfically to workout the brain pathways associated with memory and concentration. Click here to find out more about how brain training works.