Healthy brain aging: role of cognitive reserve, cognitive stimulation, and cognitive exercises.
Current knowledge about the roles of cognitively stimulating lifestyles and cognitive training interventions in preserving cognitive function in later life is reviewed. Potential mechanisms for beneficial effects of cognitive stimulation and training are discussed, and key gaps in research identified. Suggestions are provided for advising patients about brain-healthy lifestyles, acknowledging that much remains to be learned in this area of research. More randomized controlled trials, using challenging regimes of training and stimulation and long-term follow-up, are needed, measuring cognitive trajectories in normal aging and relative risk of Alzheimer disease as outcomes.
La Rue
Asenath
A
Wisconsin Alzheimer's Institute, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 7818 Big Sky Drive, Suite 215, Madison, WI 53719, USA. larue@wisc.edu <larue@wisc.edu>
D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D003704:Dementia / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D010988:Play and Playthings / Q000523:psychology; D012653:Self Stimulation