Brainfit

RUTLEDGE HILL PRESS

Contents

Acknowledgments................................................................viiForeword.......................................................................ixChapter One: Regain Your Brain.................................................1Chapter Two: Making Memories...................................................20Chapter Three: Taking AIM......................................................47Chapter Four: Remembering Who..................................................78Chapter Five: Remembering What.................................................103Chapter Six: Remembering How Many..............................................132Chapter Seven: Remembering When................................................159Chapter Eight: Remembering Where...............................................181Chapter Nine: Mental Agility Challenges for the Left Brain.....................202Chapter Ten: Mental Agility Challenges for the Right Brain.....................233Chapter Eleven: Maintain Your Brain............................................259Appendix.......................................................................279Notes..........................................................................305

Chapter One

"The mind is like a parachute ... it doesn't work unless it is open." -Anonymous

A Modern Fairy Tale

Imagine a now middle-aged Sleeping Beauty and Prince Charming. They've had a little cosmetic surgery, work out regularly at the health club, eat a low-carb diet and attend Pilates classes regularly. They check their good and bad cholesterol yearly, drink a glass of red wine a day, and indulge in the occasional massage. Aging well is a top priority, and they understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

Every morning, they ask the magic mirror the proverbial question (with a twenty-first century twist). "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the youngest of us all?" The mirror answers back," You guys look awesome, but may I suggest a PET brain scan to check out your aging brain? After all, what good is an attractive and fit body if you are not going to be mentally present to enjoy it?!"

And the moral of the story is ... "Don't forget to make brain fitness part of your antiaging strategy."

Searching for the Fountain of Youth

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once said, "Youth comes but once in a lifetime." If Mr. Longfellow were alive today, he would marvel at how the scientific advances of the twenty-first century are creating ways for us to rejuvenate ourselves and live well into our nineties. Science and medicine are allowing us to replace aging body parts, transplant thinning hair, revitalize our libido, as well as nip, tuck, and lift anything that sags. But staying young is not just a matter of physical fitness and cardiovascular health; it is also a matter of brain fitness. For those who seek the fountain of youth, it's time to make brain fitness the next battleground on the antiaging front. Before you don your brain gladiator attire, however, it's helpful to understand what you have working for you and against you. So, let's begin with an understanding of how the brain ages.

Unraveling the Mystery of Brain Aging

In recent years, we have explored the surface of Mars, mapped the human genome, and cloned sheep. By contrast scientists are only just beginning to understand the processes associated with brain aging. Numerous factors, however, are colliding and catapulting neuroscience (the study of the brain and nervous system) to the forefront of medical research. First, people are living longer, giving us more aging brains to study and protect. The average life span today is seventy-five years, up forty-seven years from 1900. Scientists predict that life expectancy by the middle of the twenty-first century could be well into the nineties and beyond. Running parallel to increased life span is new brain imaging technology such as MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and PET (positron emission tomography), which allows scientists to explore the surfaces of the aging brain and detect miniscule changes in brain anatomy. Finally, we have the baby boomers, seventy-nine million individuals strong, who are rapidly increasing the ranks of senior citizens, turning fifty at the rate of ten thousand per day; and they do not intend to age silently. Always a vocal group, the baby boomers are demanding to know what can be done to preserve their bodies and their brains.

What we are learning about the aging brain is dispelling old myths and opening up new avenues of research and treatment. Until very recently, brain aging was attributed to the ongoing loss of brain cells (neurons) through a natural biological process called apoptosis. According to Will Block, publisher and editorial director of Life Enhancement magazine, " of the roughly 100 billion neurons in the brain, we lose ... permanently ... about 100,000 daily." Only a decade ago, the prevailing theory of brain aging was based on the premise that an irrevocable loss of brain cells throughout our lifetime would result in progressive mental decline and eventual senility. Scientists now know this is not true. In fact, it is not the number of brain cells you have but the health of existing brain cells that determines brain resilience.

More recent studies suggest that the plaques and tangles that begin accumulating in the brain by our late twenties may be the critical factor in brain aging. Dr. Gary Small describes this phenomenon in his book The Memory Bible. He explains that "the subtle, gradual aging of the brain starts as tiny plaques and tangles that begin accumulating there, decades before a doctor can recognize any symptoms.... In fact, these plaques and tangles begin forming so early in our adult lives that subtle memory and language changes go unnoticed and ignored for many years."

While the accumulation of plaques and tangles is an acknowledged factor in brain aging, new research studies suggest that this buildup of plaques and tangles may be just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to understanding and reversing brain aging. A recent USC Health magazine article entitled "The Aging Brain" cites new research suggesting that the root cause of brain aging may reside in complex chemical interactions that occur in the brain over time, as well as inflammatory processes associated with aging.

While the many different theories of brain aging compete for attention and funding, there are two points on which all scientists seem to agree: cognitive decline is not due to normal brain cell loss, and the mystery of brain aging will take generations of scientists to unravel.

The Amazing Brain

One of the most amazing findings arising from recent brain research is confirmation that the brain is a dynamic organ that continually rewires and adapts itself, even in old age. The miraculous regenerative powers of the brain are being seen in both the formation of new brain cells and the expansion of new neural connections between brain cells. Princeton University researcher Elizabeth Gould, studying macaque monkeys, reported in 1999 that the mature primate brain produces new neurons that incorporate...