Brain training programs offered to counteract cognitive decline are increasingly popular among older people who fear Alzheimer’s disease as soon as they experience memory loss. But do these workouts really have an effect on the brain? Researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital (Neuro) are currently conducting a study aimed at highlighting the changes that some of these workouts cause in the brain.
“Our cognitive abilities, meaning our ability to process information quickly and efficiently and our ability to focus on a task, peak at age 30 and then begin to decline. , but without necessarily causing difficulties, except in people with Alzheimer’s disease, which accelerates this decline”, recalls from the outset the neurologist Étienne de Villers-Sidani, principal investigator of this study.
But contrary to what we have long believed, the brain retains its plasticity – its ability to modify its connections – beyond the period of development, even throughout life, because “we can learn throughout our adult life”, he points out.
It is probably because of this neuroplasticity that brain training programs seem to be beneficial. “Studies have shown that this strategy seems to have good potential, but there is no clear basis. It is unclear which active ingredients are involved in the benefits one may derive from these workouts. We don’t have any scientific evidence,” he points out.
When we age, it is mainly our attention span and our ability to fetch information fluidly and quickly process the information we perceive through our senses, such as vision and hearing, which themselves have weakened, which are declining, notes the neurologist.
“Attention is crucial. If we’re not careful, there’s nothing that will fit [dans notre tête]. If there’s a lot going on around us and a lot of information flowing around and we can’t really focus our attention on a subject, then our ability to process it well will be diminished. And this will lead to a slowdown in cognitive processes. It’s like a child with attention deficit disorder who, because he can’t listen carefully to what the teacher is explaining and not because he has no memory, doesn’t remember the lesson taught,” he explains.
The ACTIVE clinical trial conducted by American researchers has shown that the beneficial effects (on speed and memory) of brain training targeting the senses and attention on cognitive functions are maintained for 5 or even 10 years. after the end of training, underlines the Dr of Villers-Sidani.
This type of program aims to “retrain our ability to pay attention to properly sample our sensory environment, which improves the quality of the information our brain receives and, therefore, helps it to process information in a more efficient, resulting in increased memory and faster execution,” he explains.
The role of acetylcholine
However, we know that acetylcholine (ACh), a substance used by the neurons of the brain to communicate with each other, plays a very important role in the processes of attention as well as in the plasticity of the brain. From the age of 30, its abundance begins to decrease. The only drug that is currently approved for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease aims to increase the functioning of the cholinergic system (which communicates using ACh), he says.
For all these reasons, Neuro researchers believe that brain training could increase the presence of this important neurotransmitter in the brain. The INHANCE study they are performing aims to test this hypothesis and document where and how in the brain training seems to have the most impact.
To do this, two different types of brain training will be prescribed to two separate groups of participants. These training sessions take the form of playful activity sessions inspired by the ACTIVE study and whose level of difficulty increases over time. These activities are done on a tablet in the comfort of his living room, for 30 minutes a day, for 10 weeks.
If there’s a lot going on around us and a lot of information flowing around and we can’t really focus our attention on a subject, then our ability to process it well will be diminished. And this will lead to a slowdown in cognitive processes.
Before their training and once it is over, participants undergo an examination of their brain using a special technique of positron emission tomography developed at The Neuro. This technique allows you to see the impact of training on the cholinergic system throughout the brain. “We are going to look in particular at whether the presence of ACh has increased in the cortical areas linked to attention, as well as in the visual and auditory areas, after training, and whether these changes occur more specifically with one of the two types of drive used”, points out the Dr of Villers-Sidani.
The researchers also measure pupil reactivity, “which is a biomarker that tells us about the state of health of the cholinergic system”, as well as heart rate variability, i.e. “the heart’s ability to rapidly changing its rhythm between beats, a phenomenon which is also controlled by ACh via a nerve connecting the brain to the heart”, before and after training. “A heart capable of great variability is an indicator of good health of both the heart and the brain”, underlines the neurologist.
The study will also identify the categories of people who are most likely to benefit from this training.
“This type of training can even be beneficial for people who are beginning to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, just as exercise is beneficial for people with cardiovascular disease,” says Dr.r of Villers-Sidani.
“At the end of this study, doctors will now have clear and tangible proof of the benefits of brain training when they offer it to their patients,” he enthuses.
The study has already started with about sixty participants aged 65 and over with relatively preserved cognition. The team hopes to recruit about forty more. People wishing to participate in the INHANCE study can express their interest to the Neuro team ([email protected] or by phone at 438 240-2009).