Friday, September 3rd, 2010

Mental Exercise and Dementia

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Can mental stimulation help stave off dementia? Photo by Flickr user davitydave.

Can regular mental exercise help slow down the progress of dementia? Research published this week in the journal Neurology finds that mentally stimulating activities such as doing crossword puzzles, reading and listening to the radio may be able to help slow the onset of dementia. The mental decline isn't halted, however -- and when it comes, the decline into dementia may progress more rapidly in people who undertook regular mental exercise. We'll talk to one of the authors of the study about its findings.

Guests

Robert S. Wilson
Professor, Neurological Science and Behavioral Science
Rush University Medical Center
Chicago, Illinois

Related Links

Segment produced by:Annette Heist

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Support for Science Friday provided in part by the Noyce Foundation
and
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
The National Science Foundation
Research Corporation for Science Advancement