You remember seeing big figures on how many of the brain’s nerve cells disintegrate after the age of 30. Dr. Marian Diamond said Herb Caen, the late San Francisco Chronicle columnist, once reported it was on the order of 30,000 cells per second. She called to ask him his source. “I got it from another newspaper,” he said.
Her research at the the University of California at Berkeley shows that a normal, healthy brain does not grow new nerve cells after birth, but it does not lose very many after adolescence and can create new branches or, as she calls them, dendrites, even during the later years of life.
That’s the good news.
The bad news is that the brain, to continue adding branches and remain healthy, needs oxygen in greater quantities than, say, napping provides. A regimen like Yoga can teach us breathing techniques, she suggested. The brain also needs nutrients from foods like tofu, which comes from a food group other than ice cream and chocolates. Brain cells, which are made up of protein, appreciates supplements from foods like fish and chicken; nothing was said about cheeseburgers or mashed potatoes with gravy.
“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is another myth, she said. “You have to consider the condition of the old dog.”
Her findings rely on the study of rats. And here’s something to consider: Take three mama rats, each with three babies, and raise them in an enriched environment that includes a variety of games and an ideal diet. Compare them with a mama rat and three of her pups living alone in cramped quarters. The brains of the game-playing, socially active group show significantly more growth of nerve cell branches. And it happens among the older as well as the young animals.
When a trip to Germany revealed that their rats lived about 800 days, Dr. Diamond added another element to a group in an enriched environment. “We tried TLC,” she said. The tender loving care extended the rats’ lives to 900 days, which equates to more than 100 years for humans.
Change is crucial in enriching an environment. For rats, that means changing the toys, she said. For people, the frequency and duration of newness are factors. Activities with other people stimulate the brain. It needn’t be constant. Another factor is pleasure, which often hinges on successfully reducing destructive forms of stress.
We can take opportunities for more multi-sensory experiences, she said, and I deduced that she does not have TV in mind. Instead, she recommends choosing and planning activities. Variety, it turns out, also enhances the brain. The active participant also needs some time to be alone, she added.
Dr. Diamond is the author of “Enriching Your Heredity,” the winner of a number of teaching awards, and has written some 150 scientific papers on the brain. She likes to quote one of her former professors. After learning the results of one of her breakthrough studies, he observed, “He who lives with his wits dies with his wits.”
Comments