Does White Matter Matter?
Researchers at Tohoku University in Sendai
Japan have taken a different approach with their analysis. They performed a
large study of healthy young adults to understand if the overall amount
of white matter in the brain was
associated with faster processing speed. White matter is bundles of axons which
connect various gray matter areas to each other and to the spinal cord. In our “Vegetables and Video Games”
post, we noted that, individuals with faster processing speed have lower risk
of dementia, either from resistance, or brain “rewiring” around tau and amyloid
damage. Specifically, measured over a ten-year span, a 29% lower risk.
The Tohoku University
study, led by Associate Professor of Developmental Cognitive Science Hikaru
Takeuchi, PhD and by Daniele Magistro, PhD, now a Research Associate at Loughborough
University. The research report noted that: “Processing speed is considered a
key cognitive resource and it has a crucial role in all types of cognitive
performance”. The study found a positive correlation between the volume of
white matter and processing speed, measured at the whole brain level. White
matter volume in individual brain regions seemed to matter less than overall
volume.
Build a Faster Brain; Work at Peak Throughout Life
If we combine the work from Tohoku University,
the Indiana University study
on brain training videos, and the “Super Mario” study at Montreal
University and The University of Newfoundland, we can make an important
judgement call. Playing video games with increasing levels of difficulty that
require spatial reasoning, and learning new activities that require fine motor
skills and concentration such as learning to ride a bike or play guitar, will
build a thicker hippocampus, faster fornix and more white matter. All things
promise better cognitive performance at any age, as well as some defense
against dementia. I.E. – a Bigger Brain!
We’re not in the video game business, but we are in the
heart-and-brain-healthy exercise business and the good-night’s sleep business
(when your brain organizes memories).
If your 2018 goals include getting in better shape, please
consider one of our travel-friendly
exercise kits. We’ll throw-in one of our silk
sleep masks – a $7.99 value- for free.
We wish you health, prosperity and a Bigger Brain in 2018!
Big Brain Place Offers Fun Stuff That's Good For Your Brain.
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