Older adults saw a key brain chemical, acetylcholine, increase after BrainHQ exercises.
A new study offers the first strong evidence in humans that cognitive training can increase levels of a brain chemical that plays a key role in learning and memory, which normally drops as people age. Researchers at McGill University tracked 92 healthy adults aged 65 and older over a 10-week period. Half of the group spent 30 minutes a day on standard computer games, while the others completed challenging mental exercises using a program called BrainHQ, which focuses on memory, attention, and processing speed.
No change was seen in the group playing regular computer games, like solitaire, per NBC News. But, using PET scans, researchers found that those who did the targeted mental training saw a 2.3% boost in acetylcholine in the anterior cingulate cortex, an area tied to decision-making and error detection, per NPR. That’s a “significant” change considering acetylcholine typically declines by about 2.5% per decade as we age, says McGill neurologist Étienne de Villers-Sidani, an author of the study published last week in JMIR Serious Games. In other words, the increase observed in this study is roughly equivalent to turning back the clock on brain aging by a decade.
“It was compelling enough that I thought, ‘Maybe I need to be doing this,'” Michael Hasselmo, a Boston University neuroscientist not involved in the study, tells NPR. He notes even minor increases in acetylcholine can noticeably impact memory and thinking. Previous Alzheimer’s drugs have aimed to boost this chemical to slow symptom progression. The NIH-funded study adds weight to earlier animal research suggesting that stimulating environments can raise key brain chemicals and aligns with past findings that cognitive training may help preserve mental function.