Transcript Brain Fitness: Maximizing Potential

Brain Fitness for Your Patients:
What you can encourage them
to do about those
‘Senior moments’
Polk County Advanced Practice
Nurses Association
September 22, 2012
Our Agenda Today
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How do you address your patients’ worry
about their memory and their future due to
their perceived memory loss?
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The facts, like them or not:
Our brain function is less robust as we age
 Lifestyle changes and brain exercises can
improve our brain function
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Senior moments, brain farts, what fors, mental glitch, drawing a blank…
When is the brain fully developed?
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Brain size:
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a newborn's brain is only about one-quarter the size
of an adult's;
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about 80 percent of adult size by three years of age
and 90 percent by age five
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Synaptic development:
neurons, structured much like trees
# of synapses in the
cerebral cortex peaks
within the first few years,
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Speed of neural processing:
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& adolescence
newborn's brain slower than an adult's, transmitting
information less efficiently
declines by about 1/3
between early childhood
growth is largely due to changes in individual
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increases dramatically during infancy & childhood,
maximum at about age 15
From Zero to Three, National Center for Infants, Toddlers & Families
Brain development in babies
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Does experience change the
actual structure of the brain?
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Brain development is "activitydependent"
Every experience--whether it is
seeing one's first rainbow, riding
a bicycle, reading a book,
sharing a joke--excites certain
neural circuits and leaves others
inactive
As neuroscientists sometimes
say, "Cells that fire together, wire
together."
Neuroplasticity
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Visionary researcher Paul Bach-y-Rita
“We see with our brains, not our eyes”
Today, Dr. Michael Merzenich professor emeritus neuroscientist at the
University of California, San Francisco
“The brain’s lifelong ability to change its
structural and functional architecture in
response to learning and experience.”
Defined by Andreas Engvig, MD/PhD student
Research
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http://www.cdc.gov/aging/healthybrain/research.htm
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Examining the Impact of Cognitive Impairment on Co-occurring Chronic Conditions (2010–2012)
Examining the Prevalence of Chronic Health Conditions and Cognition (2010)
Understanding the Publics’ Perception of “Brain Health” (2005–2009)
New Research Explores Perceptions of Cognitive Health Among Diverse Older Adults [PDF-1.34Mb]
Systematic Literature Reviews
Community-based Interventions to Improve Emotional Health in Older Adults (2007–2010).
Physical Activity Interventions Related to Cognitive Health (2007–2010).
Physicians’ Perceptions, Knowledge and Practice about Cognition (2008–2010).
Public’s Perceptions about Cognitive Health and Alzheimer’s Disease (2008–2009).
Assessing Perceptions, Knowledge and Beliefs About Cognition (2008–2010)
Research Meeting - the “Healthy Brain and Our Aging Population: Translating Science to Public Health
Practice” (2006)
Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Healthy Brain and our Aging Population: Translating Science to Public
Health Practice . This special issue of Alzheimer’s & Dementia includes articles from presentations given at
the 2006 research meeting about the “Healthy Brain and our Aging Population: Translating Science to Public
Health Practice.”
Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study (Ball et al., 2002; Willis et al.,
2006), or the recent Nature Reviews article on cognitive interventions for Alzheimer’s disease (Buschert et al.,
2010)
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The Gerontologist: Promoting Cognitive
Health in Diverse Populations of Older
Adults.
The Gerontologist Volume 49 Issue S1
June 2009
Cognitive Ability = Quality of Life
• Staying Sharp
• Staying Vital
• Maintaining Independence
Source: Posit Science Qualitative Study 9/04
Brainspan Should Match Lifespan
Cognitive Function
Posit Science
Normal
Pathological
Brain Function
Remains Robust
“Normal” AgeRelated Cognitive
Decrease
Pathological
Cognitive
Decrease
Age
The Brain Changes Functionally With
Age – Encoding and Processing Speed
At age 75, it takes us
more than twice as
long to process
information than
when we were age 20
And this is why we all need
to work on keeping our brain sharp…
Illustration: Immediate Memory
Just for fun, I am going to give you an
immediate memory test. No one else will
know your results.
Take out your pad and pen and wait until I
finish reading the entire list. I will read you
16 words in total.
Once I finish saying the 16 words, write
down all the words you remember.
How do we remember?
A science perspective
Hearing:
Transform
sound waves
into neural
signals
How do we remember?
A science perspective
Hearing:
Encoding:
Transform
sound waves
into neural
signals
Transform
neural code
from ear into
neural code for
brain
How do we remember?
A science perspective
Hearing:
Encoding:
Storage:
Transform
sound waves
into neural
signals
Transform
neural code
from ear into
neural code for
brain
Store neural
circuit in
memory-related
brain structures
How do we remember?
A science perspective
Hearing:
Encoding:
Storage:
Recall:
Transform
sound waves
into neural
signals
Transform
neural code
from ear into
neural code for
brain
Store neural
circuit in
memory-related
brain structures
Pull information
out of storage
for use
How do we remember?
A science perspective
Hearing:
Encoding:
Storage:
Recall:
Transform
sound waves
into neural
signals
Transform
neural code
from ear into
neural code for
brain
Store neural
circuit in
memory-related
brain structures
Pull information
out of storage
for use
High frequency
hearing loss
due to
functional
decline of inner
ear
“Fuzzy”
encoding due to
slow and
inaccurate
processing
Poor storage
due to lowered
levels of key
neurochemicals
Decreased
ability to recall
information due
to poor
encoding and
storage
What Do People Do About Cognitive
Decline?
Bad
Do nothing
Compensate
Crosswords, etc
Targeted Exercise
Good
Great
We have control over important causes of
brain function decline
Aging
Machinery
Loss of hearing
in the ear
Shrinkage of
brain
Noisy
Processing
“Fuzzy” input
reduces
accuracy and
slows brain
processing
functions
Chemical
Changes
Lower levels of
memoryenabling
chemicals
released
“Negative Plasticity”
Within
our
control
Negative
Behavior
“Do Nothing”
and
compensatory
Habits lead to
under use
Characteristics of Activities that Prevent and
Reverse Brain Function Change
Noisy
Processing
Chemical
Changes
• Appropriately
challenging
• Repetitive and
intensive
• Frequently
Rewarding
• Attentionally
demanding
• Surprising
Negative
Behavior
• New
• Demanding
• Confronting
Increase cognitive reserve? SCAT?
Learn something new - Sudoku
Dendrites
• Treelike extensions of a neuron.
• Most neurons have multiple
dendrites: short & typically highly
branched.
• Dendrites are specialized for
receiving information
• They form synaptic contacts with
the terminals of other nerve cells to
allow nerve impulses (information)
to be transmitted.
Grow Your Dendrites
Many Lifestyle Changes May Help
With Brain Fitness
• Regular Exercise
• Sleep
• Stress Relief
• Socialization
• Diet
…The Real Power is in targeting the root causes of
brain function change
Designing a Program to “Really Use It”
• Brain Plasticity-Based Workouts
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Learn to play the violin
Learn Japanese
Learn to juggle
Learn to tango
Learn to use your “other” hand
Become an air traffic controller
Use Programs Designed to Target the Root Causes
of Brain Function Decline
IMPACT Shows that the Right Kind of
Cognitive Exercise Can Rejuvenate the Brain
The researchers found that people using the Posit Science program:
Best
>
Noticed benefits in their everyday lives
CSRQ-64
Findings:
• 3 out of 4 people selfreported positive changes in
their everyday lives
• Benefits ranged from
remembering shopping lists,
being more independent, feeling
more self-confident and hearing
conversations more clearly
Post-Only Measure (+/0/- scale)
(higher is better)
2600
p = 0.003
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ET
AC
Illustration: Delayed Memory
Take out your pen again
On the back of your piece of paper, write
down the words you now remember
How is this research helping?
The Benefits of DriveSharp Brain Fitness Training
• Decades of research show the technology in DriveSharp:
• Speeds up visual processing and increases "useful field of
view" so drivers see more of the road with each glance
• Decreases reaction time, so drivers can stop 22 feet sooner
at 55 mph
• Cuts at-fault crash risk by 50%
How brave are you?
http://www.positscience.com/testlets/jeweldiver/ind
ex.php?session=cbomppsn4i8ijpp1o50o9bfcp0
Just to get you started online:
http://www.sharpbrains.com
www.alz.org
http://www.marblesthebrainstore.com/visual.html
http://www.cognifit.com/
http://www.lumosity.com/
http://www.fitbrains.com/
http://www.positscience.com
Resources
All About Aging, LLC
Providing Solutions for Families
Geriatric Care
Management
Dementia Care
Consulting
Brain
Fitness!
Barbara Herrington, M.A., C.M.C.
Professional Geriatric Care Management
Dementia Care Consulting * Brain Fitness
P. O. Box 2745, Winter Haven, FL 33883-2745
Serving Polk & Highlands Counties
Phone 863-557-7604
[email protected]
www.allaboutagingllc.com