Good relations with people have helped to delay the aging of brain

Good relations with people have helped to delay the aging of brain

Strong social ties may suspend the aging of the brain and cognitive function in the elderly.

To such conclusion the American scientists, who tested how well memory works in older subjects with a large number of friends and their less sociable peers. The article was published in the journal PLOS One.

The main risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s is age. On the other hand, the deterioration of cognitive functions (memory, attention, or learning) with age is considered normal. However, both processes — the development of neurodegenerative diseases and decline in cognitive performance — are closely linked. That is why researchers are actively studying a variety of factors — from lifestyle to the environment — which can slow down the aging process of the brain.

Now scientists have tested how the expansion of social ties affects one of the most important (and vulnerable to age-related changes) cognitive functions, like memory. The study was conducted in the framework of the SuperAging Program at northwestern University in Chicago — it involves people aged 80 years that are of good (in comparison with their peers) indicators of cognitive activity.

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