This article looks at neuroscientist Aga Burzynska and her work with Olga Kotelko, a woman she would never even meet, a run-of-the-mill 93 year old.
Olga took up track and field at age 77 and has since gone onto dominate international sports well into her 90's, but what gets Aga excited is her brain.
Although she died at age 95, her mind was ultra sharp and sh read the newspaper back to front daily, enjoyed Sudoku, sang complicated hymms and was working on her autobiography.
The typical brain shrinks over time as neural connections atrophy and thick brain matter thinning. High blood pressure and other heart related conditions may contribute and other heart related conditions may cause vascular dementia, the second most common type of dementia after Alzheimer's and dementia actually sets in in for 30% of us after age 85.
Aga's research has found that Olga's edge was not what she as born with, but what she did, which we mean we can all have a shot at this huge advantage.
Olga was your everyday grandmother until 1984 when she retired and she discovered he inner athlete.
She first joined a slow-pitch soft all team and played until she was 77 but after colliding with a teammate going for a catch, she decided to quit.
At a friends suggestion she took up track and field and went on to win 750 gold medals and setting 37 world records in events such as sprinting, long jump and javelin, to name a few.
She last competed in 2014 and even though there were events where she was the only competitor, she was doing things women far younger then her could not do.
When she was 93 she agreed to let scientists study her brain
They tested her memory, problem-solving abilities, processed speed and other cognitive skills and even placed her in an MRI machine ans scanned her brain where they found that white matter, that usually deteriorates with age muddling thinking and degrading memory, was found to be off the charts in Olga.
Olga's brain as not pristine - MRI'as revealed plenty of white dots (hyperintensities) in her white matter, rand her brain had appeared to shrink over time, both common age related changes in the elderly.
Aga has said that she had the brain of a 60 year old.
The suggestion is that yes exercise is great for the body and the mind, but more importantly never stop challenging yourself to learn no matter how old you get.
Aga was also most interested in her white matter.
Brain neurons communicate with on another via axons that are fibres that act as transmission lines. The axons are coated in a fatty substance called myelin and together they form white matter.
Myelin acts as an insulator, like the plastic coating on electrical wires, and greatly increases how quickly and efficiently nerve signals travel from one region of the brain to another which essentially defines cognitive abilities.
Those with intact white matter do best on all types of cognitive tests.
As myelin degrades and axons die off, signal transmission is deteriorates.
After months of researching Aga discovered what made Olga's brain so unique; the huge amount of white matter in her coprus callosum which is a thick swath of fibers that transfer nerve signals between the brain's left and right hemispheres transmitting thoughts, movements and memory - was so off the charts it was better then any of the younger women in the comparison study.
The unique movements of each of her track and field events required lots of communication between different muscle parts of the brain providing a greater challenge then simple movements, or movements you've perform repeatedly.
Mice that learn to run on wheels with irregularly placed rungs show an increase in white matter and learning to juggle or play golf can increase grey brain matter which is related to processing information.
It's far from conformed, but it suggests that starting a new, challenging physical activity could lead to the preservation, and growth, of myelin and the continuation of that activity can help preserve white matter.
Here are some ways to grow your brain by altering your current routine.
If you walk, mix in intervals or walking on rocky trails.
If you swim, tackle new strokes or consider open water swimming.
If you bike, try new routes.
If you go gym classes, try one's you've never done before
If you any skill sports then sign up for lessons to new learn skills, play new courses and against new opponents.
If you haven't taken up sport before then:
Start slowly by preparing the body for the training through aqua-fit classes as well as bodyweight and wall exercises.
Break down each major movement of the sport and master each phase before moving to the next.
Relax your mind and muscles for greater learning.
Watch and learn from other, higher level athletes.
The full article can be found here.
No comments :
Post a Comment