Challenge your mind, challenge your brain: environmental complexity and brain health

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DESARROLLO PSICO-SOCIOEMOCIONAL DE LA EDAD: PSICOLOGÍA POSITIVA Y BIENESTAR EN LAS PERSONAS MAYORES
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Published: Oct 28, 2016
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17060/ijodaep.2016.n2.v1.548
Keywords:
environmental enrichment neuroplasticity complexity dementia aging

Main Article Content

Rosa Redolat
Universitat de Valencia
Patricia Mesa Gresa

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization, it is estimated that more than 30 million people suffer from Alzheimer’s disease in the world. Currently, there is great interest in developing strategies to counteract the cognitive decline that accompanies aging and, to a greater extent, neurodegenerative diseases. The aim of the current study is to analyze the experimental evidence supporting the hypothesis that interventions based on novelty and complexity are more effective in order to achieve successful aging. In animal models it has shown that enriched environments and performing voluntary exercise can improve performance in learning and memory tasks, decrease anxiety response and counteract the deleterious effects of stress. Studies in human subjects suggest that those activities that imply greater novelty and challenge for the brain (such as bilingualism or learning new tasks) as well as interventions based on physical exercise induce greater benefits on brain health. It is considered that this type of interventions and an active lifestyle can contribute to the cognitive reserve, promoting neuroplasticity in a positive direction. Since in human subjects is difficult to isolate the mechanisms that explain how the novelty or complexity of the environment can promote neuroplasticity, in this paper we report main results obtained in neuroscientific studies related to the changes induced at neurobiological and behavioral levels by exposure to enriched environments. Future studies using neuroimaging and other biomarkers could explain why those most challenging and novel tasks can induce adaptive changes in the brain.

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How to Cite
Redolat, R., & Mesa Gresa, P. (2016). Challenge your mind, challenge your brain: environmental complexity and brain health. International Journal of Developmental and Educational Psychology. Revista INFAD De Psicología., 1(2), 201–210. https://doi.org/10.17060/ijodaep.2016.n2.v1.548
Issue
Vol. 1 No. 2 (2016): PSICO-SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE AGE: POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY AND WELFARE IN THE ELDERLY
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Articles
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Author Biography

Rosa Redolat, Universitat de Valencia

Catedrático

Departamento Psicobiología

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