A new study finds that a cognitive training program may boost production of a brain chemical that plays a role in memory and attention.
People in the intervention group did BrainHQ exercises, while those in the control group played games designed for entertainment.
The research claims to be the first of its kind to show that brain training exercises can offset natural decline in cholinergic function.
A study published last year in the journal Healthcare linked select BrainHQ exercises to faster visual processing speed in older adults.
“That doesn’t actually challenge our brain to learn new things, to learn complex information and to apply knowledge.” Could brain training help people with dementia?
Even in healthy adults who do not have dementia, cognitive function naturally declines with age. According to a recent study, a cognitive training program might increase the synthesis of a brain chemical involved in memory and attention.
92 adults 65 and older participated in a clinical trial conducted by researchers at McGill University in Montreal. Since none of them had a cognitive disorder diagnosis, they were all in good health.
INHANCE (Improving Neurological Health in Aging via Neuroplasticity-based Computerized Exercise) was a study in which participants were divided into two groups of forty-six at random. Both groups were instructed to use a computer or mobile device for 30 minutes each day for 10 weeks to complete a predetermined task.
While the control group played entertainment-oriented games, the intervention group engaged in BrainHQ exercises.
Researchers measured the amount of acetylcholine produced in the brains of trial participants at the start and finish using positron emission tomography (PET) scans and a radioactive tracer.
Acetylcholine production in the anterior cingulate cortex, a region of the brain crucial for learning, memory, attention, and executive function, increased by 2–3% in participants in the BrainHQ group. No discernible change occurred for those in the control group.
The study asserts that it is the first to demonstrate that brain training exercises can counteract cholinergic function’s natural decline.
According to senior author Dr. Etienne de Villers-Sidani, a neurologist at McGill-affiliated The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital), his patients frequently inquire about ways to maintain mental acuity.
According to de Villers-Sidani, an associate professor in McGill’s department of neurology and neurosurgery, “I’ve always thought that there are things that you can do that have a positive impact on brain health.”. I’m now even more certain that [brain training] has a significant effect on the state of important brain chemical systems based on what we’re seeing. “”.
More than 300 studies have examined BrainHQ training. Certain BrainHQ exercises were associated with improved visual processing speed in older adults, according to a study that was published in the journal Healthcare last year.
However, de Villers-Sidani pondered what biochemical alterations might be brought about by brain training techniques.
According to him, “we really wanted to see how these [exercises] were changing the brain in a more fundamental way,” focusing on a chemical system that fuels plasticity and is essential for learning, memory, and attention. “.”.
The INHANCE trial was sponsored by BrainHQ’s parent company, Posit Science, based in San Francisco, and was funded by the National Institute on Aging, a division of the National Institutes of Health. The trial’s findings were released in the journal JMIR Serious Games on Tuesday.
Remember how acetylcholine aids in learning.
Acetylcholine is being used by your brain when you are learning something new. The message is to remain vigilant. It is also essential for other body processes, such as the contraction of skeletal muscles and the control of blood pressure.
Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter, meaning it communicates with other cells and neurons. It can also affect a neuron’s activity as a neuromodulator.
This chemical aids in learning, thinking, and memory. Additionally, it aids in alertness,” stated Dr. Jennifer Pauldurai, a neurologist who was not a part of the trial and works at Inova Health System in northern Virginia. Although it’s not the only thing that goes wrong with dementia, it has been demonstrated to be lacking in a number of dementia types, including Alzheimer’s. “”.
Previous studies have demonstrated that the anterior cingulate cortex’s acetylcholine production declines by roughly 2–5% every decade between the ages of 20 and 80.
According to Pauldurai, the INHANCE trial’s findings are encouraging.
“I always start by telling them to keep their minds active,” she said. Although we all say it, no one has been able to demonstrate or demonstrate objective alterations in the brain. “”.
Brain training is not the same as gaming.
There has been conflicting research on how games and puzzles relate to the aging brain.
Joaquin Anguera, an associate professor at the University of California, San Francisco’s Weill Institute for Neurosciences, defined the BrainHQ exercises used in the trial as “game-like but not games.”. He has created brain exercises for use in additional cognitive research and serves as the clinical director of UCSF’s Neuroscape translational science center.
Anguera, who was not a participant in the trial, stated, “Games like sudoku or crossword puzzles are made to entertain you; they’re designed to engage you and get you excited.”. Does playing those have any advantages? That depends on how you study your goals and where you hope to see progress. “”.
According to de Villers-Sidani, BrainHQ exercises are adaptive, meaning that the difficulty increases with skill and decreases with incompetence. He stated that individuals undergoing such training should be “always pushed to their limit,” adding that the trial exercises replicated time constraints and distractions, two stressors that occur in real life.
The trial examined two BrainHQ exercises: Freeze Frame, which requires participants to distinguish a target image from similar images over time, and Double Decision, which requires participants to simultaneously identify objects in the center of the screen and their peripheral vision.
Double Klondike Solitaire and Bricks Breaking Hex, which requires players to match hexagonal shapes of the same color, were played by those in the control group.
According to Pauldurai, regular physical activity can help maintain your physical well-being, and regular cognitive muscle flexing can improve your mental well-being. However, playing a game on your phone is not the same as brain training, just as going to the gym is not the same as getting physical therapy.
She remarked, “We often click colorful buttons and get rewarded after finishing a level or something, and we have too much fun.”. “That doesn’t really test our ability to apply knowledge, learn new things, or comprehend complex information.”. “.”.
Would brain training be beneficial for dementia patients?
There were several significant limitations with the INHANCE trial.
The majority of participants were well-educated, from the Montreal area, and nearly 96 percent were white. People from different cultural backgrounds may find different meanings in the different visuals used in the brain exercises, according to de Villers-Sidani.
The Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, where Laura Glass Umfleet is an associate professor of neurology, had other worries. The trial included a number of Posit Science researchers, suggesting a bias in favor of BrainHQ in a market crowded with brain training firms, even though McGill scientists were in charge of data collection and analysis.
While BrainHQ provides free exercises, it also advertises paid subscriptions that start at $96 annually, which some people may find too expensive. Umfleet, who did not participate in the trial, added that the software also requires a device with an internet connection and a certain amount of technological know-how.
“For ten weeks, cognitive training required a daily commitment,” Umfleet stated in an email. There is no way to determine whether more intense training has diminishing returns or whether less intense training could be equally effective. “”.
A follow-up study funded by the NIH will assess the response of individuals with mild cognitive impairment to brain training activities, according to De Villers-Sidani.
Pauldurai advised, “You should consider your brain as a medical, physical organ.”. “The physical interaction is still necessary. She advises getting seven to eight hours of sleep every night, eating healthily, and exercising for thirty minutes each day.
Pauldurai advised, “Look after your mental and physical health and make friends.”. And constantly engage in enjoyable, mentally taxing activities. “.”.
