Walking the Brain

If you share my passion for physical fitness and mental agility (or one of the two), give The New York Times’ Exercise on the Brain article by Welcome to Your Brain (March 2008) co-authors Sandra Aamodt & Sam Wang a read.

The espresso version: Although “environmental enrichment” – computer-based brain exercise programs – has been proven to improve brain performance in laboratory animals, the findings don’t necessarily apply to humans. Also, in terms of the impact on aging, improvement seems to be limited to a specific activity or function, for example, Scrabble or memory.

What has been proven to provide a generalized mental fitness benefit is physical exercise. Exercise improves our “executive function,” a range of abilities that include processing speed, behavior response, focus and working (current) memory. Physical exercise yields three primary brain benefits: (1) reduces age-related shrinkage of the frontal cortex, (2) reduces risk of brain damage due to heart attack or stroke, and (3) stimulates connections between neurons.

Art Credit: Graham Roumieu