Train your brain to prevent its decline? The answer is not always simple, but the debate could be settled thanks to a new study from the University of Sydney in Australia, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. The researchers combed through 17 studies carried out over the past 20 years on the subject and come to this conclusion: the interest of brain training depends on the state of your brain.
Strengthen your brain at the first signs of decline
No need for patients with dementia to spend long hours in front of a computer screen doing exercises. Analysis of studies carried out on people with major cognitive disorders reveals that brain training does not improve their cognitive functions. It is somehow “too late” for these patients.
On the other hand, when cognitive disorders remain mild, exercising your brain is beneficial so as not to aggravate the first deteriorations. One in ten people with mild cognitive impairment will develop dementia within a year, that is to say that their disorders will worsen to the point of preventing them from continuing their daily activities. Brain training could counter these complications. In these people, it improves memory as well as other cognitive functions, such as learning and attention. At the psychosocial level, these playful on-screen exercises also have positive effects on mood and perceived quality of life.
Preventing dementia in those most at risk
The diagnosis of dementia is based on four criteria: a deficiency in many cognitive domains, definitive and unexplained by other medical causes. The last criterion is also the one that generally makes it possible to define the seriousness of the disorders: unlike mild disorders, dementia has repercussions on everyday life and prevents the patient from carrying out simple activities. By strengthening the higher functions of the brain, brain training allows people with cognitive decline to avoid falling on the side of dementia while maintaining their autonomy.
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