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  • Rambling and long-winded explanations may be an early sign of mild cognitive impairment. The problem is not the increase in verbosity, however, but a growing inability to be precise.

A study comparing the language abilities of 22 healthy young individuals, 24 healthy older individuals and 22 people with

  • The largest study to date of chemo-brain shows that 45% of women with breast cancer report it's a substantial problem for months after chemotherapy.
  • A rat study suggests an effect of chemotherapy on dopamine and serotonin may be partly responsible.
  • Better cognitive function, and improved mood, are linked to frequent moderate-to-vigorous physical exercise among breast cancer survivors.
  • A new cognitive-behavioral treatment program has been trialed with positive results.

Chemo-brain common among women with breast cancer

  • A Greek pilot study has shown that a self-administered cognitive training game can detect mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Following on from a previous study showing that such a virtual supermarket game administered by a trained professional can detect

  • A large study adds to evidence that caffeine helps older women fight cognitive impairment and dementia.
  • This is supported by two animal studies showing precisely how caffeine is valuable for keeping the brain healthy.

Data from the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study, involving 6,467 postmenopausal women (65+) who reported some level of caffeine consumption, has found that those who consumed above average amounts of coffee had a lower risk of developing dementia.

  • A mouse study suggests that some Alzheimer’s symptoms are made worse by falling body temperature — and are helped by improving body temperature.

Our bodies’ ability to regulate its temperature gets worse with age, along with a slowing metabolism. We also become more vulnerable to Alzheimer's as we age. A study compared mice genetically engineered to manifest Alzheimer's symptoms as they age with normal mice.

  • A finding that Alzheimer's sufferers' failure to recognize familiar faces is rooted in an impairment in holistic perception rather than memory loss, suggests new strategies to help patients recognize their loved ones for longer.

People with Alzheimer's disease develop problems in recognizing familiar faces. It has been thought that this is just part of their general impairment, but a new study indicates that a specific, face-related impairment develops early in the disease.

  • Reading from a screen may encourage users to focus on concrete details rather than more abstract thinking.

Four studies involving a total of more than 300 younger adults (20-24) have looked at information processing on different forms of media.

  • Finger tracing key elements in worked problems seems to help some students better understand and apply mathematical concepts.

I've reported before on studies showing how gesturing can help children with mathematics and problem-solving. A new Australian study involving children aged 9-13 has found that finger-tracing has a similar effect.

  • A large survey sheds light on why we have slips of the tongue when we call very familiar people by the wrong name.

We've all done it: used the wrong name when we know the right one perfectly well. And we all know when it's most likely to happen. But here's a study come to reassure us that it's okay, this is just how we roll.

  • A large long-running study adds to growing evidence that higher levels of physical activity reduce brain atrophy and Alzheimer's risk, and shows that many types of aerobic activity are beneficial.

Data from 876 patients (average age 78) in the 30-year Cardiovascular Health Study show that virtually any type of aerobic physical activity can improve brain volume and reduce Alzheimer's risk.

  • Two studies support the use of peppermint tea and rosemary essential oil for improving memory and alertness.

A couple of studies reported at the recent Annual Conference of the British Psychological Society are intriguing.

  • A study of older adults with impaired hearing supports the use of hearing aids to help fight the development of cognitive decline and dementia.

A study involving 100 older adults (aged 80-99) with hearing loss has found that those who used a hearing aid performed significantly better on a cognitive test (MMSE) than those who didn't use a hearing aid, despite having poorer hearing.

  • A study of younger adults adds to evidence that higher BMI is associated with poorer cognition, and points to a specific impairment in memory integration.

A small study involving 50 younger adults (18-35; average age 24) has found that those with a higher BMI performed significantly worse on a computerised memory test called the “Treasure Hunt Task”.

  • Focusing on concrete details when experiencing a traumatic event may, oddly enough, protect you more from the power of those memories, than if you tried to distance yourself from what you are experiencing.

Can you help protect yourself from the memory of traumatic events? A new study suggests that, by concentrating on concrete details as you live through the event, you can reduce the number of intrusive memories later experienced.

A study involving 65 older adults (average age 66), of whom 35 had type 2 diabetes, has found that after two years, those with diabetes had decreases in their ability to regulate blood flow in the brain, and a reduced ability to regulate blood flow was associated with lower cognitive scores.

A large study has found that mild cognitive impairment occurred twice as often in older adults diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

A German study involving 1,936 older adults (50+) has found that mild cognitive impairment (

  • A small study adds to evidence that walking improves memory in older adults, and indicates that this is particularly helpful for memory tasks the seniors find challenging.

A small study that fitted 29 young adults (18-31) and 31 older adults (55-82) with a device that recorded steps taken and the vigor and speed with which they were made, has found that those older adults with a higher step rate performed better on memory tasks than those who were more sedentary.

  • Data from the very long-running Framingham Heart Study adds to evidence that, for those with at least a high school education, the rate of dementia is declining. Improved cardiovascular health and treatment appears to be an important factor in this decline.

As we all know, people are living longer and obesity is at appalling levels. For both these (completely separate!) reasons, we expect to see growing rates of dementia. A new analysis using data from the long-running Framingham Heart Study offers some hope to individuals, however.

  • A small study shows significant changes in brain activity among older adults engaged in learning a cognitively demanding skill.

A study involving 39 older adults has found that those randomly assigned to a “high-challenge” group showed improved cognitive performance and more efficient brain activity compared with those assigned to a low-challenge group, or a control group.

  • A large study in which older adults underwent various types of cognitive training has found that less-educated adults benefited more from training designed to speed processing.

Data from 2,800 participants (aged 65+) in the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study has revealed that one type of cognitive training benefits less-educated people more than it does the more-educated.

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