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Doctors have been advising us for years to "use it or lose it": that is, to stay as intellectually active as possible into our waning years in order to avoid dementia. But the latest research shows that brain training comes at a price.
In a study of 1,157 men and women age 65 or older, researchers led by Dr. Robert Wilson at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago found that people who remained intellectually stimulated -- by playing cards or other games, reading or visiting museums -- were diagnosed with dementia later than those who were not as cognitively active. But once dementia set in, the group who participated in mentally stimulating activities experienced a much more rapid cognitive decline. Over the 12-year study, for each additional point they gained on a measure of cognitive activity, the intellectually stimulated group experienced a 52% greater decline in cognitive impairment, after being diagnosed with dementia.
"Brain activity is not stopping the underlying neurobiology of dementia, but for a while, it seems to be effective in delaying the additional appearance of symptoms," says Wilson. "But the benefit of delaying the initial symptoms comes at the cost of more rapid progression of dementia once it makes its appearance."
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