新聞選輯：Healthy Living: To fight aging of the brain, take a walk

資料來源 From：http://www.providencejournal.com/features/lifestyle/health-fitness/20141124-healthy-living-to-fight-aging-of-the-brain-take-a-walk.ece

Healthy Living: To fight aging of the brain, take a walk
Published: November 24, 2014 01:00 AM
BY KATHRYN DEMOS
Special to The Journal

Fighting the signs of aging is a billion-dollar industry.

Most of us are willing to put a lot of time and energy into combating (or at least slowing!) its physical changes, such as graying hair or wrinkling skin. But what about the changes in our brains that we can’t see? Are we in a losing battle when it comes to these natural, age-related brain changes?

Maybe not.

As a cognitive neuroscientist, I often hear people ask if I can scan their brains and tell them what is “wrong” because they are forgetful or lose track of their own thoughts. While there is some degree of decline common with aging (typically in memory, attention and information processing speed), cognitive neuroscience, specifically non-invasive brain imaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging, has painted a whole new picture of what is going on in the aging brain.

With fMRI (my go-to research tool!), we have learned that the brain is definitely changing as we age, but it’s not necessarily in the ways you’d think.

Just as wrinkles occur from the loss of elastin, and graying hair is the result of diminished pigment in the follicle, it would follow that aging may be coupled with reduced brain activity.

This is not exactly the case, though..... 繼續閱讀