A Robot Improves Brain Function in Patients with Cognition Disorder

The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Kimura Clinic, and Brain Functions Laboratory participated in joint research involving Paro, a therapeutic seal robot, and patients with Alzheimer's disease and other cognition disorders to discover the effect of the robot on improving brain function.

Elderly subjects with cognition disorders were asked to interact with Paro. The subjects' brain waves were measured before and after the interaction for analysis. Out of the 14 people who participated in the study, 7 (50%) experienced an improvement in brain function. Studies in the past have shown that robot therapy involving Paro in domestic and international facilities for the elderly produces expressions and behavior in the patients that is similar to those in healthy people. Interaction with Paro improves brain function in elderly patients with cognition disorders and helps prevent the development of such disorders in healthy people. Furthermore, subjects who expressed a positive attitude towards Paro were found to show a greater response to the therapy.

In Japan, the cost of providing long term care for patients with cognition disorders has risen to 4 million yen per person. This represents an enormous burden for the municipalities that provide long term care insurance. Because of this, it has become increasingly important to find ways to prevent cognition disorders that will require long term care.

People who interact with Paro are expected to improve the quality of their lives and prevent the onset of cognition disorders. In this way, Paro can help decrease the need for long term care.
These results are going to be presented at the Stockholm-Tokyo video conference on Service Robots and the Aging Population on September 22, 2005.

Read the entire article on AIST

Brain Training DOES boost brain power

Is the brain like the muscles in your body? Can it be trained with cognitive exercises to improve mental agility and sharpness as you get older?

Quite a bit of research has come out lately indicating that the answer to this question is a resounding ‘Yes’.

The most recent research I’ve come across is the ACTIVE study (Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly), published in the December issue of JAMA (reference below). The amazing findings indicate a mere 10 training sessions (each lasting 60-75 minutes) over a five week period was enough to significantly improve cognitive ability and brain power. Importantly, the brain boosting effect lasted more than five years.

The benefits were actually quite impressive. Dr. Sherry Willis, one of the chief authors of the study, notes: “The improvements seen after training roughly counteract the degree in decline in cognitive performance that we would expect to see over a 7-14 year period among older people without dementia”.

The study included 2,832 participants over the age of 65.

I’ve come across a few interesting brain training programs (mainly for those over 50) and will be posting reviews in the next month or two.

From Sharpen your mental edge

Take a Free Cognitive Brain Health Test

Everyone can relate to improving their brain health, whether it is an elite team of executives looking to optimize their effectiveness, or an individual concerned about brain aging or a distinct problem. Recently, The Brain Resource Company launched a free, confidential, 40-minute cognitive brain test in partnership with the Alliance for Aging Research. The company is offering the test at no cost until May 14, 2007. I haven't taken it yet, but it might be an interesting way to obtain a baseline against which to monitor changes over time.

From Corante BrainWaves blog

Fitness for your brain...

"I was surprised how much plasticity, how much flexibility older brains have, because the general belief up until a decade ago was that brains deteriorated as we age. That's not true," he says.

Not true at all. Plasticity is the actual strengthening of connections between neurons, stopping, yes, even reversing memory loss. Physical exercise helps, and so do mental exercises.

"The brain is actually revising itself. It is actually plastically changing itself as you develop new skills and abilities, as you learn new things," says Mike Merzenich, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco.

Merzenich has, in many ways, turned neuroscience on its head by championing this idea of plasticity. He has started a company called Posit Science that has developed a computer program called Brain Fitness, which is commercially available for about $400. Program users exercise their brain by doing thousands of different mental tasks per hour. The goal is a younger, more active mind.

Seniors at Leisure Cares' Heritage Estates community in California say Posit Science's brain fitness programs have made a difference.

"It stimulates your brain and really makes you remember and want to remember," says Grace Curran, one of the residents.

To be clear, says Gupta, what Merzenich is selling hasn't been independently proven to work. But a recent study in the journal of the American Medical Association says the benefits of cognitive training like this can last five years.

Without question, there are already lots of good reasons to exercise. But now we know you may be training the most important "muscle" of all: your brain.

From CBS Evening News