College and your brain

The lifelong economic benefits of a college education are well-known, but what about lifelong health benefits? Research indicates that the risk of dementia is inversely associated with education as well as with other factors such as social class and occupation. There is a common thread among these protective factors. [Continue]

The lifelong economic benefits of a college education are well-known, but what about lifelong health benefits? A recent article in the New Scientist reports that confusion, loss of mental function, inability to dress oneself, and other signs of dementia are more likely for people with a high school education than for college graduates. Research indicates that the risk of dementia is inversely associated with education as well as with other factors such as social class and occupation. Is there a common thread among these protective factors? It might be the high levels of mental activity that go along with them. Lifelong mental activity could very well be a key ingredient in avoiding the declining facility of the mind that's seen in people with dementia. As the New Scientist reports, the protective effect of lifelong mental activity can even overpower the anatomical decay of Alzheimer's Disease. The mentally active, even when their brains have the pathology of Alzeheimer's, have better than expected mental accuity. The mechanism of action for the protective effect of mental activity could involve plasticity of the brain in bypassing dementia-damaged neurons or it could be that lifelong mind games lead to higher throughput neurons that still function adequately even in the presence of damage. There is evidence that even a short burst of increased mental activity, in a structured program for instance, has a significant positive effect.