Can you boost your brain’s health?

One of the more frequently posed questions to a neuroscientist these days goes something like this, “If I do a Sudoku every day, will my brain be healthier?” This is a tough question to answer for a number of reasons. I’m going to put if off for a second, and start by telling you what we can definitively say about the brain. We can agree that the brain is a ridiculously complex organ. We know that the structure and function of the brain is shaped by our experiences. Scientists like to call this ‘experience-dependent plasticity,’ a fancy term to say that what we do, see, hear, think, smell and taste can cause our brains to change.

The fact that your brain can change is the basis for all kinds of behaviour. Take learning for instance – a pianist becomes world-class not on natural talent alone, but because years of practice optimizes how his-or-her brain works to process information and control the fine movements necessary for perfection. Brain plasticity is not just for developing brains, you can teach an old dog a new trick, you just have to practice it enough so the brain can adapt and learn the new skill. Clinically, we know brain plasticity is the reason why people can recover lost functions as a result of brain injuries like stroke. For example, doing purposeful movements repetitively with a hand that was affected by a stroke drives brain plasticity and thus recovery. How does this happen? Parts of the brain not damaged by the stroke take over function of the damaged areas. It’s pretty incredible.

Brain plasticity was best described by a brilliant Nova Scotian neuropsychologist, Dr. Donald Hebb, who summed it up by saying, “Cells that fire together, wire together.” Basically, if two areas of the brain work together over and over again, the connection between them is strengthened. Conversely, if two brain areas don’t work together, the connection between them is weakened. It’s easy to understand, its neuroscience not rocket science.

Now to answer the Sudoku question, does ‘brain training’ make your brain healthier? It seems the scientific jury is still deliberating. On the ‘yes’ side, neuroscientists cite evidence showing that playing ‘brain training’ video games result in better thinking and memory skills. Other evidence has linked the type of job you have to better brain health later in life; namely people in jobs that require more thinking have better brain health than those who do less. Neuroscientists on the ‘no’ side however suggest that the evidence showing the effectiveness of ‘brain training’ has yet to be presented. Some neuroscientists would argue, of course a person could improve a skill if they practice it enough; that’s what brain plasticity is. Does improving a skill as a result of ‘brain training’ mean that you have a healthier brain? Not necessarily. Until we have a definitive answer to this question, what is one supposed to do for brain health?

Like the rest of our body, our brain needs a good source of fuel to keep it going. Not surprisingly, your brain consumes around 20 per cent of your body’s energy. This means eating a well-balanced diet ensures it has the energy needed to run optimally. What about exercise? As it turns out, exercise isn’t just good for your heart and lungs; it also has great effects on your brain. Exercise turns up the activity of all kinds of chemicals in your brain, particularly those that help with brain plasticity.

What about training your brain to make it healthier? While the jury may still be deliberating how effective structured ‘brain training’ may be for brain health, I think we can come to a couple of conclusions. Similar to other muscles, your brain can benefit from a good workout. From a brain plasticity perspective, it makes sense that stimulating your brain with a new or different problem keeps those neurons firing together, and thus wiring together. We also know that beyond the pain of not finishing your crossword puzzle, challenging your brain will do no harm. So go ahead and grab a Sudoku – although we can’t absolutely say it will boost your brain’s health it does have its benefits.

Brain plasticity and brain health are two of many brain-related topics that are part of Brain Awareness Week, an international campaign whose purpose is to increase awareness of brain research and its impact on society. Brain Awareness Week runs from March 16-20, with free events open to the public across the city. To learn more about BAW 2015, including a schedule list of events please visit www.brainrepair.ca or follow us on twitter @BrainWeekHFX

Shaun Boe, MPT, PhD is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Laboratory for Brain Recovery and Function in the School of Physiotherapy, Dalhousie University. You may contact Dr. Boe at [email protected]. | www.physiotherapy.dal.ca.