حتما شنیده اید که فعالیت هایی مانند حل جدول کلمات قاطع، خواندن کتاب، و شنیدن رادیو ممکن است مغز ما را در مقابل زوال عقل (دیمانس) محافظت کند.  اکنون مطالعه تازه ای نشان می دهد که اگرچه این نوع تمرین/ ورزش های ذهنی ممکن است در آغاز سرعت کاستی توان شناختی را کاهش دهد، اما ممکن است در آینده آن را تسریع کند.

پژوهشگران کنش های ذهنی 1,157 نفر 65 ساله یا سالمندتر، که در شروع این مطالعه 12 ساله مبتلا به زوال عقل نبودند، را مورد بررسی قرار دادند.  شرکت کنندگان به پرسش هایی در مورد این که با چه تناوبی در بعضی فعالیت های ذهنی شرکت می کردند بر اساس یک مقیاس پنج امتیازی پاسخ دادند.  هر اندازه فردی امتیاز بیشتری داشت، او در تمرین های بیشتری شرکت می جست.

نتیجه ها نشان داد که، در طول شش سال بعد، به ازای هر امتیازی در مقیاس کنش ذهنی نرخ کاهش توان شناختی سالانه تا 52 درصد پایین رفت.  با این حال، برای مبتلایان به بیماری آلزایمر، میانگین نرخ کاش توان شناختی به ازای هر امتیاز بر روی مقیاس کنش ذهنی سالانه تا 42 درصد افزایش داشت.

دکتر رابرت اس. ویلسن، عضو مرکز پزشکی دانشگاه  راش در شیکاگو گفت: "نتیجه های ما چنین القا می کند که سود به تاخیر انداختن نشانه های آغازین کاستی شناختی ممکن است به بهای گسترش سریع تر زوال عقل در آینده باشد، اما پرسش این است که چرا این اتفاق می افتد؟"

نظریه ویلسن در این باره این است که کنش های محرک ذهنی ممکن است قابلیت مغز در عملکرد عادی را تقویت نماید، حتی اگر آسیب هایی در مغز که مرتبط با زوال عقلی است وجود داشته باشد.  هنگامی که بیماران مبتلا به زوال عقلی شناسایی می شوند، آنهایی که در روش زندگی خود کنش های ذهنی بیشتری داشتند احتمالا تغییرات بیشتری در ارتباط با زوال عقل خواهند  داشت.  در نتیجه، آنهایی که روش های زندگی با فعالیت ذهنی بیشتر داشتند ممکن  است هنگامی که زوال عقلی آغاز شود با سرعت بیشتری آن را تجربه کنند.  

ویلسن توجه می دهد که فعالیت های ذهنی دوره زمانی که یک فرد مبتلا به دیمانس است را با به تاخیر انداختن زمان شروع  و سپس با تسریع گسترش آن فشرده می کند.  به گفته او: "این [فرایند] کل زمانی که ممکن است فردی از زوال عقلی رنج ببرد را کاهش می دهد."

Exercises Slow Dementia at First, Then Speed it Up?

redOrbit | Posted on: Thursday, 2 September 2010, 08:52 CDT

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- You've heard that activities like completing crossword puzzles, reading a book and listening to the radio may protect your brain from dementia. Now, a new study shows those exercises may slow cognitive decline at first, but may speed it up later on.

Researchers studied the mental activities of 1,157 participants aged 65 or older who did not have dementia at the start of the 12-year study. The participants answered questions about how often they participated in certain mental activities on a five-point activity scale. The more points scored, the more often they participated in the exercises.

Results showed, during the next six years, the rate of cognitive decline was reduced by 52 percent for each point scored on the cognitive activity scale. However, for people with Alzheimer's disease, the average rate of decline per year increased by 42 percent for each point on the cognitive activity scale.

"Our results suggest that the benefit of delaying the initial signs of cognitive decline may come at the cost of more rapid dementia progression later on, but the question is why does this happen?" Robert S. Wilson, Ph.D., from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, was quoted as saying.

Wilson's theory is mentally stimulating activities may enhance the brain's ability to function normally even if lesions in the brain, which are associated with dementia, exist. Once patients are diagnosed with dementia, those who have a more mentally active lifestyle are likely have more brain changes related to dementia. As a result, those with more mentally active lifestyles may experience a faster rate of decline once dementia begins.

Wilson notes that mental activities do compress the time period that a person spends with dementia, delaying its start and speeding up its progress. "This reduces the overall amount of time that a person may suffer from dementia," he said.

SOURCE: Neurology, September 1, 2010

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Brain Exercises May Slow Cognitive Decline Initially, But Speed Up Dementia Later

Editor's Choice
Main Category: Alzheimer's / Dementia
Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience;  Seniors / Aging;  Public Health
MNT | Article Date: 02 Sep 2010

New research shows that mentally stimulating activities such as crossword puzzles, reading and listening to the radio may, at first, slow the decline of thinking skills but speed up dementia later in old age. The research is published in the September 1, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

"Our results suggest that the benefit of delaying the initial signs of cognitive decline may come at the cost of more rapid dementia progression later on, but the question is why does this happen?" said study author Robert S. Wilson, PhD, with Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

According to Wilson, mentally stimulating activities may somehow enhance the brain's ability to function relatively normally despite the buildup of lesions in the brain associated with dementia. However, once they are diagnosed with dementia, people who have a more mentally active lifestyle are likely to have more brain changes related to dementia compared to those without a lot of mental activity. As a result, those with more mentally active lifestyles may experience a faster rate of decline once dementia begins.

Wilson noted that mental activities compress the time period that a person spends with dementia, delaying its start and then speeding up its progress. "This reduces the overall amount of time that a person may suffer from dementia," he said.

For the study, researchers evaluated the mental activities of 1,157 people age 65 or older who did not have dementia at the start of the nearly 12-year study. People answered questions about how often they participated in mental activities such as listening to the radio, watching television, reading, playing games and going to a museum; for this five-point cognitive activity scale, the more points scored, the more often people participated in mentally stimulating exercises.

During the next six years, the study found that the rate of cognitive decline in people without cognitive impairment was reduced by 52 percent for each point on the cognitive activity scale. For people with Alzheimer's disease, the average rate of decline per year increased by 42 percent for each point on the cognitive activity scale.

The study was supported by the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Source: American Academy of Neurology (AAN)
Copyright: Medical News Today