Completing simple learning exercises can significantly improve memory in older adults, a group of Irish researchers has found.
The study of 24 people aged 55-70 concluded that by practising regular memory exercises, the ability to recall texts as well as everyday events is improved.
Volunteers were asked to learn a newspaper article or poem of 500 words every week for a six-week period during which their progress was monitored.
"Every week we tested their recall of the texts," said Jonathan McNulty from UCD's school of medicine and medical science. "As well as this we would carry out mundane memory questionnaires asking things like what they had for breakfast and what they did that day."
A diagnostic imaging, known as a magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), was carried out on half of the group before and after the six-week learning period. This monitored the brain patterns of the volunteers and measured any chemical changes relating to memory performance. A third and final scan was carried out in the 12th week.
"We thought we would see an improvement at the end of the six weeks," says Mr McNulty, who is an expert in diagnostic imaging. "However, we saw nothing in the MRS, so we let them rest for six weeks and then got them back in for tests. It was then that we saw metabolic changes in the brain and improved memory performance across the board."
Some 13 scientists around the State contributed to the study, which was funded by the Higher Education Authority Research Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions. The findings were presented at the Radiological Society of North America's annual conference in Chicago last week.
"Memory problems are a major issue for older adults and the most common complaint made to GPs," said Richard Roche from the department of psychology at National University of Ireland in Maynooth.
"Our research shows that there are simple things that everyone can do to help lower the risk of dementia. One way of describing it is that the brain is like a muscle and you need to keep exercising it to keep it fit, healthy and in good shape."
Spokeswoman for the Alzheimer Society of Ireland, Margaret Downey, agreed with the findings: "There are a number of tips that we issue to help reduce the risk of developing dementia and one of these is to stay mentally active by reading, playing board games, doing crosswords and number puzzles like sudoku, playing bridge or going to bingo."