What is the Scientific Basis for Brain Exercise?

We are living in the “age of the brain,” a time of great scientific insight and discovery about what makes us tick and how. This ever-increasing body of knowledge about our minds is based on extensive and validated scientific research by world-respected scientists in multiple related fields and aided by technologies that enable scientists to look at the brain, through brain imaging, in real-time, to actually see what parts of the brain are working alone or together on what kinds of tasks. To learn more about almost every aspect of research recently conducted on the brain, you may want to consult Dana Foundation’s excellent guide to brain health, which discusses both what we know about the brain and the mysteries scientists are still investigating.

For the last several decades, scientists from many disciplines, including neuroscientists, neurologists, psychologists, physicians specializing in treating both young and aging patients, speech pathologists, and others, have looked closely at how our brains develop, learn, age, and change. As importantly, they have hypothesized and conducted extensive, large, and numerous clinical trials and research studies to discover ways in which we can keep our brains healthy and vibrant throughout our lives. As a result, we now have an extensive foundation of scientific data about what we should do to keep fit and agile as we age. The research ( Bronx Aging Study, Washington Heights Inwood Columbia Aging Study,and the Chicago Aging Study, to name a few) shows the importance of making wise lifestyle choices that include good nutrition, adequate sleep, stress management, regular physical exercise, regular interactions with others (or feeling part of a community), and consistent mental stimulation. We also know that we can even build up extra cognitive bench strength, called cognitive reserve, for use as needed (Dr. David Snowdon’s highly readable, break-through study, Aging with Grace).

Consistent mental stimulation helps our brains to change, adapt, and create new neural pathways and connections, giving us an edge on maintaining a healthy and vibrant brain over time. There are two types of mental exercise: (l) acquiring knowledge, such as learning a new language, how to play a new musical instrument (or an old one better), traveling to a new place where food, history, culture, and even language cause us to adapt our old ways or learn new ones, reading a challenging book that gives us new insights, or taking a course in ancient history, for a small sampling; and (2) practicing the basic cognitive skills, such as memory, language, quantitative, reasoning and judgment, and spatial and visual skills, that help us acquire all the new knowledge outlined above more efficiently and effectively. We need both kinds of mental stimulation and exercise to maintain brain health and fitness. We now know that we need physical exercise in at least two complementary areas: aerobic and muscle toning and strengthening. Similarly, we need to constantly acquire new knowledge and hone the cognitive skills like memory, attention, and reasoning that help us acquire new knowledge or adapt to change and live our lives to their fullest.

Sharpening our cognitive skills, such as memory, attention, and reasoning, through regular training and exercise is very much like practicing scales on the piano. We can play quickly and accurately when the music calls for it if we practiced the component parts enough. Our subconscious mind takes over and we automatically use these much-practiced skills to enable good piano playing. The same thing happens when we practice cognitive skills, such as memory, attention, and reasoning. When we need these skills to play Sudoku or argue politics or remember a shopping list or drive, these enabling skills kick in seemingly effortlessly, automatically, and seamlessly. Why? Because we have practiced them so much, we no longer have to think about them. They are simply there for us to use. That’s the reason to sharpen and tone them through regular and consistent exercise as we age, to insure that these skills remain vibrant, fast and accurate. When we’re focused on learning a new language or driving to see a friend or reading a complicated novel, these critical cognitive skills are unseen, gliding into action when we need them most.

Recently, studies such as the large, NIH-supported ACTIVE Study have shown that practice on such key cognitive skills as reasoning, memory, and attention can translate to better driving, better financial decision-making, and higher everyday quality of life compared to those who did not practice these skills.