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5 things that happen to your brain when you learn a new language
Never has the bar to entry been so low and the recognized benefits so high.
29 July, 2020
Credit: Digital_Art_Studio / Shutterstock
- Learning a new language has been shown to sharpen your cognitive abilities while helping stave off dementia as you age.
- A University of Chicago study found that businesspeople make better decisions when weighing problems in a non-native tongue.
- Juggling multiple languages lets bilingual speakers switch between tasks with less stress and more control than monolinguists.
<p>In an increasingly globalized world, some believe you only need to speak English in order to engage in international business. As language expert David Crystal explains in his book, <em>How Language Works</em>, this is a false assumption. In Europe, for example, Crystal points out speaking multiple languages is "seen as a criterion of responsible international citizenship."</p><p>Crystal writes that multilingualism prepares children to cope with a constantly changing society. Of course, learning a new language isn't confined to the young: there are myriad benefits at every age. We list five important brain-boosting features of learning a foreign language below. </p><p>From increased tolerance and employment opportunities to a wide range of memory and problem-solving skills, foreign languages teach us about others as well as ourselves. When you speak in a new language you gain perspective on the reality you've constructed around your original tongue. Not only do you speak differently, you learn how to think differently. </p><p>Whether doing it for others or yourself, the many benefits of multilingualism are available through a variety of online courses and apps like <a href="https://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=1145301&u=2216766&m=77900&urllink=&afftrack=" target="_blank">Rype</a> or <a href="https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-9285647-13349269" target="_blank">Babbel</a>. Never has the bar to entry been so low and the recognized benefits so high.</p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6d6ee338c7b9c97cee963292f952f549"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Evbwtef8_-g?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><h3>1. A boon for cognition</h3><p>Your muscles become weak when you stop training them. They even atrophy over time. The human brain works in much the same manner. When you stop learning, neural connections are weakened. This results in forgetfulness and potentially dementia. </p><p>One of the best means for staving off dementia is learning a new language. As a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6077199/" target="_blank">2018 review</a>, published in the journal <em>Frontiers in Human Neuroscience</em>, puts it, "One of the non-pharmacological approaches, which may enhance cognitive abilities and protect against the decline in healthy older population, seems to be the learning of a foreign language."</p><p>You can grow new neuronal connections at any age provided you keep learning. Foreign languages force you to think differently. A language lesson is like a session in the brain gym. The most effective way to not lose your memory is to keep using it—a necessity when learning a language. Besides memory enhancement, languages improve overall cognitive functioning, raise self-esteem, and increase opportunities for socializing, all necessary skills in aging populations. </p><h3>2. Improve your decision-making skills</h3><p>A <a href="https://news.uchicago.edu/story/thinking-foreign-language-helps-economic-decision-making" target="_blank">unique study</a> at the University of Chicago found that businesspeople make better decisions when weighing problems in a non-native tongue. UChicago psychologist Boaz Keysar argues that foreign languages force you to contemplate decisions instead of relying on intuition, which is riddled with biases. As people tend to be loss-averse, they sometimes overlook favorable opportunities. By considering a business opportunity presented in a foreign language, they have to spend more time thinking through all angles of every deal. This reduces the emotional pull of a risky endeavor while revealing potential avenues that have not been considered. This skill makes you a better critical thinker in every language you speak. </p><h3>3. Creativity unleashed!</h3><p>An <a href="https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Cognitive-Benefits-Language-Learning-Final-Report.pdf" target="_blank">extensive review</a> of the benefits of multilingualism indicate a strong connection between creative flexibility, fluency, and originality. How often have you heard a non-native English speaker make a unique observation with a combination of words you've never heard but that make complete sense? New languages cause you to picture landscapes of possibilities. Choosing the proper term for a feeling or thought is itself an act of creation. During the first few years of life we do this at a rapid pace. As you age, you become more deliberate in your word choice. New languages free you from the conventions of habit. Expressing yourself in a new language is a creative act, and that mindset translates into other realms of life. </p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUyMTM3My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNDc0MDI3M30.JvxBO2_IAYf-50tAse2CuDfxZ1vhfzvHKN56BKjtTlo/img.jpg?width=980" id="949fd" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0308edc54956b3b59aec2e723b058e71" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Credit: @jankolario on Unsplash
<h3>4. Increased attention</h3><p>We live in an attention economy and many people suffer from a deficit. When you hear a word or phrase being spoken, your brain actually guesses at the completed statement. We're constantly guessing reality all the time. Interestingly, bilingual speakers don't turn off one language when listening to another. They're anticipating words from multiple languages all the time, according to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3583091/" target="_blank">an article</a> published in the journal, <em>Cerebrum</em>. As the authors write, </p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"To maintain the relative balance between two languages, the bilingual brain relies on executive functions, a regulatory system of general cognitive abilities that includes processes such as attention and inhibition." </p><p>Because bilingual speakers must navigate two (or more) languages during every conversation, their brain is primed for attention. This results in greater executive control of their cognitive functions, which is a great advantage in the current attention economy. </p><h3>5. Masters of multitasking</h3><p>Research from Penn State <a href="https://news.psu.edu/story/392426/2016/02/13/research/language-juggling-rewires-bilingual-brains" target="_blank">found</a> bilingual speakers have enhanced cognitive flexibility, which facilitates new learning. This follows a <a href="https://news.psu.edu/story/160653/2011/02/18/research/juggling-languages-can-build-better-brains" target="_blank">study</a> at the same university that discovered juggling multiple languages affords the speaker greater cognitive control, allowing the speaker to code-switch with ease. This ability to juggle languages lets them switch between tasks with less stress and more control than monolinguists. Instead of bogging the bilingual speaker down when searching for the right language, speaking in multiple tongues actually speeds up their ability to jump from mental task to mental task.</p><h3>Interested in learning a new language?</h3><p>The most effective way of learning a new language is putting it into action. <strong><a href="https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-9285647-13349269" target="_blank">Babbel</a></strong> is an online language pioneer that immerses you in real-life dialogues from day one. Courses are based on your native language and interests. Babbel's language experts devise a series of cognitive techniques that helps the information stick. Best yet, the app's speech recognition offers instant feedback. You'll be conversing quickly while retaining the words and phrases you learn. <a href="https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-9285647-13349269" target="_blank">Learn more here.</a></p><p>Some people simply learn better with an actual human teacher. That's where <strong><a href="https://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=1145301&u=2216766&m=77900&urllink=&afftrack=" target="_blank">Rype</a></strong> comes in. You can learn any of this services' 10 languages in one-on-one lessons with expert teachers via Skype. The average retention of Rype learners is 90 percent—well above most apps or classrooms. Flexible scheduling with 24/7 availability means you learn at your convenience with a real human being. That feedback is irreplaceable. There is a 7-day free trial—<a href="https://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=1145301&u=2216766&m=77900&urllink=&afftrack=" target="_blank">learn more here</a>.</p><p><em>If</em><em> you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn an affiliate commission. This helps support our team's work. You can also subscribe to <a href="https://www.bigthinkedge.com/" target="_blank">Big Think Edge</a> and check out our <a href="https://teespring.com/stores/big-think" target="_blank">merch</a>.</em></p>
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A new approach to Alzheimer’s based on physics and worms
How a study on worms pointed the way towards a treatment for dementia.
11 July, 2020
Photo by Institute for Stem Cell Research via Getty Images
- An increasing amount of research suggests that failures in phase transition within cells can cause a variety of aliments.
- The mechanism is believed to involve the inability of moleclues to move from solid to liquid and back, inhibiting cellular function.
- The discoveries open the door to treatments for neurodegenerative disease, some cancers, and other illnesses.
<p>The human brain is both the tool we use to understand the world and one of our existence's great enigmas. For large parts of human history, it wasn't even credited with thinking. Countless great minds have tried to figure out how it works from biological, physical, and philosophical perspectives. Despite their efforts, we're still trying to understand how it works, why it breaks, and how to fix it when it does. <br> <br> A new study sheds light on how the internal dynamics of the cells that comprise our brains can make it go haywire, and offer a potential route to a solution.</p>
All matter is just going through a phase.
<p>Think of liquid water for a moment. If you put it in the freezer, it'll turn to solid ice. Leave it out, and it will melt again. Boil it or leave it outside on a hot day, and it will all turn into water vapor eventually. This change in state is called a "<a href="https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry_Textbook_Maps/Supplemental_Modules_(Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry)/Physical_Properties_of_Matter/States_of_Matter/Phase_Transitions/Fundamentals_of_Phase_Transitions#:~:text=Phase%20transition%20is%20when%20a,combination%20of%20temperature%20and%20pressure." target="_blank">phase transition</a>" and is familiar to most people who took some physics or chemistry. </p><p>Phase transition sometimes takes place in cells. Molecules inside cells responsible for cellular metabolism can change from solid to liquid to carry out specific tasks. However, it occasionally happens that the process that allows this to happen breaks down, and the molecules remain a little more solid than is ideal. This means that the molecules are no longer able to move around the cell and do their jobs. <br> <br> When this happens in certain cells in the brain, toxins associated with Alzheimer's disease and various other conditions start to build up in and around the cells. This discovery, based on previous studies from 2009, is the foundation of a theory on how neurodegenerative diseases start in our brains. </p>How did scientists develop this theory?
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-media_id="aBJpp9J4" data-player_id="FvQKszTI" data-rm-shortcode-id="134616cefd3c5c6b756c407590ea3f91"> <div id="botr_aBJpp9J4_FvQKszTI_div" class="jwplayer-media" data-jwplayer-video-src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/aBJpp9J4-FvQKszTI.js"> <img src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/thumbs/aBJpp9J4-1920.jpg" class="jwplayer-media-preview" /> </div> <script src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/aBJpp9J4-FvQKszTI.js"></script> </div> <p>In 2009, a group of scientists discovered phase transitions and their importance in worms' reproductive cells<a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/324/5935/1729.full#otherarticles" target="_blank"></a>. For reasons which are probably clear to you, this study didn't garner much attention right away. After a few years, the idea that glitchy phase transitions could cause a variety of issues gained some traction, and studies on phase transition in human brain cells took <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41582-019-0157-5" target="_blank">place</a>. Dr. J Paul Taylor even won the <a href="https://www.potamkinprize.org/" target="_blank">Potamkin Prize</a>, awarded for excellence in dementia research, for work concerning how faulty phase transition relates to neurodegenerative diseases.</p>What directions does this point in?
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-media_id="cRIAffgd" data-player_id="FvQKszTI" data-rm-shortcode-id="ae687302c209d641b6e6395a8d8bff74"> <div id="botr_cRIAffgd_FvQKszTI_div" class="jwplayer-media" data-jwplayer-video-src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/cRIAffgd-FvQKszTI.js"> <img src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/thumbs/cRIAffgd-1920.jpg" class="jwplayer-media-preview" /> </div> <script src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/cRIAffgd-FvQKszTI.js"></script> </div> <p><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/07/08/888687912/new-clues-to-als-and-alzheimers-from-physics" target="_blank">In his NPR interview,</a> Dr. Taylor suggests that treatments for Alzheimer's and related diseases based on this new understanding could be available in a few years. In the same article, Dr. Clifford Brangwyane of Princeton explained that some experimental treatments have already shown promise in correcting the issues. He also suggests that phase transition treatments could be used against other illnesses and perhaps even some cancers.</p><p>Sometimes tremendous scientific advances are born out of the strangest studies. In this case, a potential treatment for a variety of terrible neurodegenerative diseases traces its roots to a study of worms. More bizarre things have happened in science.</p>
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Adult-made neurons mature longer, have unique functions
Unraveling the mysteries of adult neurogenesis may have clinical applications.
26 June, 2020
- Neuroscientists don't know the degree to which adult human brains generate new neurons.
- A new study found that adult-born neurons in lab rats continued to grow and mature long after infant-born ones stopped.
- Understanding the process of neuron birth and death can help scientists understand the causes of neurological disorders.
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<p class=""><br></p>
<p><a href="https://bigthink.com/mind-brain/brain?rebelltitem=3#rebelltitem3" target="_self">Learning about the brain</a> is a challenge. Neuroscientists must measure the operations of a byzantine tool with the very tool they're attempting to measure. That's a journey that's not so much winding as it is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%B6bius_strip" target="_blank">Möbius</a>, so it's little wonder that history's greatest scientists and philosophers have yet to crack, say, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jan/21/-sp-why-cant-worlds-greatest-minds-solve-mystery-consciousness" target="_blank">the hard problem of consciousness</a>.</p><p>Other problems are limited more by our inability to poke around in real-time. Take the question of adult neurogenesis. <a href="https://qbi.uq.edu.au/brain-basics/brain-physiology/what-neurogenesis" target="_blank">Neurogenesis</a> is the brain's ability to generate new neurons. This process is intensely productive during embryonic development, and it continues after birth at a rate any parent with a toddler can appreciate daily.</p><p>For much of the 20<sup>th</sup> century, scientists believed neurogenesis didn't take place in the structured, sedate brains of human adults. They thought that after development we possessed all the neurons we'd ever have, and this lead to a perception that <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6128435/" target="_blank">aged minds had less plasticity</a>. </p><p>Then studies began to accumulate evidence that <a href="https://bigthink.com/ideafeed/scientists-prove-new-neurons-grow-in-adult-brains" target="_self">the adult brain</a> may not be as placid as thought. One such study, published in 2018 in <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell-stem-cell/fulltext/S1934-5909(18)30121-8?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS1934590918301218%3Fshowall%3Dtrue" target="_blank">Cell Stem Cell</a>, autopsied the hippocampi of 28 adults and found human brains still churn out neural stem cells by the thousands well into our golden years.</p><p>"We found that older people have similar ability to make thousands of hippocampal new neurons from progenitor cells as younger people do," <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180405223413.htm" target="_blank">Maura Boldrini, the study's lead author, said in a release</a>. "We also found equivalent volumes of the hippocampus (a brain structure used for emotion and cognition) across ages."</p><p>Other studies have clouded the consensus. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29513649/" target="_blank">A study published in Nature</a>, one with a remarkably similar methodology to Boldrini's, found little evidence for young neurons in the dentate gyrus, a part of the hippocampus. Its authors concluded that neurogenesis likely ceased, or was extremely rare, in adults. </p><p>But a <a href="https://www.jneurosci.org/content/early/2020/06/22/JNEUROSCI.1665-19.2020" target="_blank">new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience</a> may have discovered how adult brains can continue to mature and retain plasticity without producing bubbly, baby neurons at the same clip as their younger counterparts.</p>
Getting better with age
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQxODQ1NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNjQxMjkwN30.eGwCMbptF8egRSgm4wyIBlAvjv6x8tqB5pauGurioHc/img.jpg?width=1245&coordinates=0%2C4%2C0%2C5&height=700" id="5b72b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="50b37ca4d09cd4f1db9136b07810874d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Reconstructions of adult-born neurons from rats undergoing maturation. Left to right: 2-weeks old, 4-weeks, 6-weeks, and 24-weeks.
(Photo: Cole, Espinueva et al/Journal of Neuroscience)Cole, Espinueva et al/Journal of Neuroscience)
<p>One challenge to understanding adult neurogenesis is that most studies examine new neurons within their typical six-week development window. <a href="https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Life-and-Death-Neuron" target="_blank">During that time</a> a neuron is born, travels to the region of the brain where it will work, and differentiates depending on that location. After that, the neuron is considered mature.</p><p><a href="https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/news/2020/06/22/adult-born-neurons-develop-longer-previously-thought-and-are-distinct-neonatally" target="_blank">According to Jason Snyder</a>, a researcher at the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health and one of the study's authors, the researchers wanted to look beyond this window. They wanted to know if adult-born neurons could mature, grow later in life, and become unique to those produced by newborns' brains.</p><p>To test their hypothesis, the researchers injected a viral vector into lab rats' dentate gyri. The retrovirus was tagged with fluorescent reporters. After it inserted a copy of its genome into the dividing cells' DNA, subsequent generations would glow and allow the researchers to follow them.</p><p>They watched the rats' adult-born neurons for the typical six weeks, but then kept observing into the seventh. Amazingly, the seven-week-old neurons continued to exhibit growth markers, such as larger nuclei and thicker dendrites. The researchers continued their watch for 24 weeks and found the aged neurons were bigger and sported more connections than infant-born ones.</p><p><a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-06/sfn-ang061620.php" target="_blank">Based on the results</a>, they think that adult-born neurons may continue to contribute to plasticity and regeneration throughout life, even if cell production winds down with age.</p><p>"Our study is exciting because it gives us a new framework for studying these cells," Snyder said. "Even if neurogenesis stops as we age, our study shows that it's still relevant because cells take so long to mature and keep growing for so long. This is really just a different way of looking at them.</p>Optimize Your Brain: The Science of Smarter Eating | Dr. Drew Ramsey | Big Think
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a5fc406dabd4e2acb818f68be3378bb5"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/J8BnvIku0kw?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6659986/#:~:text=Neurogenesis%20in%20adult%20humans%20remains%20a%20controversial%20area%20of%20research%20among%20neuroscientists.&text=While%20some%20researchers%20report%20that,brains%20persists%20into%20old%20age." target="_blank">The challenge of measuring adult neurogenesis</a> is difficult, but it's not impossible. A big part of the solution is knowing what to measure and where. While this new study was performed on rats—and therefore may be a poor predictor of what we'll see in humans—it can direct future research by showing neuroscientists where to look and what to look for.</p><p>And unlike the hard problem of consciousness, unraveling <a href="https://bigthink.com/mind-brain/neurogenesis-in-adults" target="_self">the mysteries of adult neurogenesis</a> may have clinical applications. Better the lifecycle of neurons may reveal how neurological disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease emerge. There's <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6091047/" target="_blank">even research</a> linking disorders such as depression and anxiety to neurogenesis activity. </p><p>This knowledge may lead to new treatments, but if not, it could also reveal a better understanding of how our lifestyles and environments support brain health and regeneration <a href="https://bigthink.com/mind-brain/super-agers-brain" target="_self">throughout human life</a>.</p>
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New study connects cardiovascular exercise with improved memory
Researchers at UT Southwestern noted a 47 percent increase in blood flow to regions associated with memory.
29 May, 2020
Photo: Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images
- Researchers at UT Southwestern observed a stark improvement in memory after cardiovascular exercise.
- The year-long study included 30 seniors who all had some form of memory impairment.
- The group of seniors that only stretched for a year did not fair as well in memory tests.
<p>When sheltering at home began in Los Angeles, a crew of ambitious Angelenos didn't let gym closures stop their workouts. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/100miles30days/" target="_blank">#100miles30days</a> spread to over 400 participants around the world. It didn't matter how you split up the distance; you just had to walk or run 100 miles in April. While a lot of fitness culture hashtags rely on gimmickry, this challenge was social media at its best.</p><p>Exercise is always important, especially during a time when isolation negatively impacts mental health. Initiatives like the above keep individuals motivated while the term "community" temporarily loses meaning. A workout partner or group fitness class holds you accountable. Some people need responsibility to keep moving, even if one as simple as a hashtag.</p><p>Whether you work out in a group or by yourself, movement is necessary. Reams of research detail the importance of regular exercise. Besides physical health, staying fit leads to good mental health. A <a href="https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-alzheimers-disease/jad190977" target="_blank">year-long study</a> at UT Southwestern again confirms this fact. </p><p>Published in <em>The Journal of Alzheimer's Disease</em>, 30 volunteers (median age: 66) either ran or stretched for 25-30 minutes three times a week. Each participant had no recent experience with exercise. Every volunteer showed some sign of memory impairment, which was a requirement, as this was a study on memory. </p><p>The stretch group performed a series of flexibility and balance exercises designed to keep their heart rate stable while strengthening their upper and lower bodies. The cardiovascular group completed a number of heart-raising exercises. After a year of continuous exercise, researchers measured cerebral blood flow in each participant. </p><p>The aerobic group showed increased blood flow to two regions key to memory retention: the anterior cingulate cortex (responsible for attention allocation, reward anticipation, impulse control, and more) and the prefrontal cortex (decision making, personality, planning complex behavior, and more). While the stretching group experienced minimal improvement in memory tests over the course of the year, the aerobic group saw a 47 percent jump in test scores. </p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzMzOTk0My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNTAyMDY2Nn0.wGVMFNBElNLZvZSUB7eJDEUkaqRZyjMhQ74T4QpTe3c/img.jpg?width=1245&coordinates=0%2C58%2C0%2C67&height=700" id="bfc8a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="59e1a9be882ec087edbcf492faf7c03e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Lithuania's Austra Reinberga (C) runs next to New Zealand's Marcia Petley (L) and Columbia's Maria Pastora Londono (R) during the women's 100m final for athletes between 85 and 89 years old, during the World Masters Athletics Championships on August 7, 2015 in Lyon, southeastern France.
Photo: Philippe Desmazes/AFP via Getty Images
<p>As lead author of the study, Binu Thomas, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Center for BrainHealth at UT Southwestern Medical Center, <a href="https://newatlas.com/health-wellbeing/aerobic-exercise-alzheimers-brain-blood-flow-dementia/" target="_blank">says</a>, aerobic exercise works in your favor at any age. Noting the study was only a small group, he continues,</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"Cerebral blood flow is a part of the puzzle, and we need to continue piecing it together. But we've seen enough data to know that starting a fitness program can have lifelong benefits for our brains as well as our hearts."</p><p>This study follows a wealth of data detailing the impact of exercise on cognition. A <a href="https://bigthink.com/surprising-science/exercise-mental-health" target="_self">University of Vermont study</a> suggests mental health patients consider exercise before starting prescription medication, going so far as to recommend medical centers build gyms in a new therapeutic model. </p><p>A prior <a href="https://bigthink.com/21st-century-spirituality/study-confirms-lifting-weights-reduces-depression" target="_self">review of 33 studies</a> advocated weightlifting as an important protocol for curbing depression. Another <a href="https://bigthink.com/21st-century-spirituality/exercise-shown-to-alleviate-symptoms-of-depression-and-anxiety-disorder" target="_self">study</a> based in Amsterdam called exercise an ideal intervention for treating anxiety disorders and depression. Oxford and Yale researchers <a href="https://bigthink.com/surprising-science/fitness-depression" target="_self">discovered the same</a>.</p><p>In 2013, the RAND Corporation <a href="https://bigthink.com/21st-century-spirituality/does-lack-of-exercise-lead-to-dementia" target="_self">estimated</a> that diseases of dementia cost America between $157 billion to $215 billion annually. Previous research specifically cites cardiovascular exercise as key for fighting dementia, including this <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/108/7/3017?sid=68cb95f7-9654-4717-a9c5-14a0d7338c70" target="_blank">2010 study</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5538117/" target="_blank">this study</a> from 2017. In 2013, epidemiologist Bryan James <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2013/04/15/176920391/how-exercise-and-other-activities-beat-back-dementia" target="_blank">told NPR</a> that aging does not have to result in memory loss. </p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"It's simply not pre-destined for all human beings. Lots of people live into their 90s and even 100s with no symptoms of dementia."</p><p>While Thomas speculates that a drug could target blood flow in the regions cited in his study, perhaps we should consider what's kept us healthy for hundreds of thousands of years: regular movement. Your body is in the shape you train for, so best to train it well. Your brain will thank you. </p><p>----</p><p><em>Stay in touch with Derek on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/derekberes" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DerekBeresdotcom" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://derekberes.substack.com/" target="_blank">Substack</a>. His next book is</em> "<em>Hero's Dose: The Case For Psychedelics in Ritual and Therapy."</em></p>
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How intermittent fasting changes your brain
A new study from Singapore found that intermittent fasting increases neurogenesis.
08 April, 2020
Photo by Danielle MacInnes on Unsplash
- Rats that fasted for 16 hours a day showed the greatest increase in hippocampal neurogenesis.
- If true in humans, intermittent fasting could be a method for fighting off dementia as you age.
- Intermittent fasting has previously been shown to have positive effects on your liver, immune system, heart, and brain, as well as your body's ability to fight cancer.
<p>Intermittent fasting (IF) is not new. Many religious traditions, including Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, and Orthodox Christianity have practiced forms of it. These methods were predominantly due to food shortages or spiritual pursuits. Today IF is most often promoted as a weight-loss regimen, and there is some evidence that it is useful in that capacity. One <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMra1905136" target="_blank">extensive review</a> found that it not only helps with obesity, but also hypertension, inflammation, and insulin resistance. </p><p>Proponents swear by its efficacy. In reality, <a href="https://www.the-scientist.com/features/running-on-empty-31436" target="_blank">intermittent fasting</a> is just about closing your feeding window: don't eat first thing in the morning (or breakfast at all), don't eat for two hours (or longer) before bed. It's a practical approach to eating, yet, as with everything in our time, it has to be packaged and marketed to be sold as a lifestyle. That's not to say that IF isn't effective. It's just not miraculous. </p><p>One honest debate that has persisted for years is how long to fast for. Twelve hours? Sixteen? Twenty? A <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/brb3.1444" target="_blank">new study</a>, published in the journal <em>Brain and Behavior</em>, set out to answer this question with a specific goal in mind: how does intermittent fasting affect neurogenesis?</p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6e04a60190c8e441e688fb169b788038"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NelIXCuuSZ0?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>While neurogenesis is most active in embryos, neuron creation is possible throughout life. The more you can achieve this as you age, the better, especially in areas like your brain's hippocampus—the focus of this study. The main duties of the hippocampus is the consolidation of experiences and information as you store short-term memories as long-term memories and spatial navigation, which is another form of memory. In <a href="https://bigthink.com/surprising-science/alzheimers-by-2050" target="_blank">Alzheimer's disease</a>, your hippocampus is usually the first brain region to suffer. </p><p>For this study, three groups of rats were tested, with a fourth control group receiving no eating restrictions. One group fasted for 12 hours, another for 16, and the final group fasted for 24 hours (on the second day they ate without restriction as well). All groups were given the same number of calories. </p><p>The three restricted groups all fared better in terms of hippocampal neurogenesis than the control group. Interestingly, the 16-hour group performed best, especially when tested for increased activation of the Notch signaling pathway—specifically, the NOTCH1 pathway (mammals have four). This pathway is implicated in the brain's ability to form new neuronal connections. This process allows us to form new memories, which is one reason why hippocampal neurogenesis helps to keep dementia at bay. </p><p>The study adds another piece to the puzzle of how diet—specifically in this case, <em>when</em> you eat—affects cognitive health. Judging by these results, it appears that restricting your feeding window to eight hours a day can have profound effects. </p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjkxODU3NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMzMxMDYyOX0.KPTsg_UXC-vAEeH4jNTVofTWu0AxjqFpjVA_ItZv_i4/img.jpg?width=1245&coordinates=0%2C153%2C0%2C769&height=700" id="13361" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="fc190e99bf70cc5406bb62bd71d8d041" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="table with fruits and plants" />
Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash
<p>The benefits do not stop with neurogenesis. As the Singapore-based team writes,</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"Prophylactic IF has been shown to promote longevity as well as ameliorate the development and manifestation of age‐related diseases such as cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, and metabolic diseases in many animal studies. It has also been postulated that IF is able to cause changes in the metabolic pathways in the brain, which leads to stress resistance capacity of brain cells." </p><p>This follows up <a href="https://bigthink.com/21st-century-spirituality/is-fasting-the-key-to-a-healthy-diet" target="_self">previous research</a> that found intermittent fasting has positive effects on the liver, immune system, heart, and brain, as well as the body's ability to fight cancer. While specifics, such as fasting duration and caloric load, remain to be seen—most likely, those will have to be decided on an individual basis—this is another win for the IF crowd. Closing your feeding window appears to have many beneficial effects for overall health. </p><p>--</p><p><em>Stay in touch with Derek on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/derekberes" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DerekBeresdotcom" target="_blank">Facebook</a>. His next book is</em> "Hero's Dose: The Case For Psychedelics in Ritual and Therapy."</p>
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