An interesting study discovered that
if you believe growing older is a negative thing, you may be more likely to develop
brain changes typically associated with Alzheimer’s disease. However the research, which was published in
the American Psychological Association’s journal, Psychology and Aging, suggests that if a person shifts their
thinking to more positive feelings on aging; it could actually help to mitigate
the damages of Alzheimer’s.
Becca Levy, an associate professor of
public health and psychology at the Yale School of Public Health and the
study’s leader said, “We believe it is the stress generated by the negative
beliefs about aging that individuals sometimes internalize from society that
can result in pathological brain changes,” She goes on to explain that while
the findings are concerning, “it is encouraging to realize that these negative
beliefs about aging can be mitigated, and positive beliefs about aging can be
reinforced, so that the adverse impact is not inevitable.”
The study examined several negative views
such as the belief that elderly people are sickly and have little to
contribute. Positive beliefs included
thinking that older people can lead vibrant lives and be engaged in
society. Other types of negative beliefs
included ideas such as elderly people cannot concentrate well and are absent-minded.
All of the participants were a part of
the Baltimore
Longitudinal Study of Aging, which is a long-term study out of Baltimore. The first part of the study was conducted with
52 men and women who answered surveys about their opinions on aging. Participants were also given regular MRI
brain scans to check for signs of Alzheimer’s.
Those who answered questions about aging more negatively were found to
have a “greater decline in the volume of the hippocampus, a part of the brain
critical for memory.” This is important
as “the hippocampus is one of the first areas of the brain to shrink in the
early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.”
The other component of the study was
to conduct brain autopsies on 74 participants who had died. Researchers found that the brains of those
who had held more negative beliefs about aging had more plaques and tangles in
their brain, which is a sign of Alzheimer’s.
The findings suggest to researchers
that the U.S.’s negative view on aging as compared to other countries such as
India, where it is seen more favorably, could contribute to Alzheimer’s being
five times more prevalent in America. Of
course positive thinking is no guarantee for good brain health but it sure
makes us feel better.
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Sources:alzinfo.org/articles/research/negative-beliefs-about-aging-could-prime-the-brain-for-alzheimers/
Becca R. Levy, Martin D. Slade, Luigi Ferrucci, et al: “A Culture-Brain Link:
Negative Age Stereotypes Predict Alzheimer’s-Disease Biomarkers.” Psychology
and Aging, 12/2015
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