A little bit of brain training today could potentially help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia for, well, at least 20 years. That’s what a recent study found, focusing on older adults who took part in cognitive exercises back in the 1990s aimed at boosting brain processing speed.
The federally funded research examined over 2,800 individuals and discovered that those who participated in eight to ten sessions of cognitive speed training—each lasting about an hour, plus at least one follow-up session—were roughly 25% less likely to receive a dementia diagnosis over the following two decades.
Marilyn Albert, a neurologist at Johns Hopkins University and a study co-author, expressed excitement about the findings: “We now have a gold-standard study showing there’s something actionable we can do to lower our dementia risk,” she noted. Meanwhile, Jennifer O’Brien, an associate professor of psychology at the University of South Florida and an outsider to the study, reflected, “It’s quite thrilling that these effects remain significant even after 20 years.”
“Taking care of my neurons”
The study’s results are especially encouraging for individuals like George Kovach, age 74, who began cognitive speed training a decade ago. Living in Vienna, Virginia, he explained, “I was really keen on looking after my neurons.” Kovach signed up for an online program known as BrainHQ, which features the same speed exercises utilized in the study. He mentioned, “I think I’ve completed over 1,300 sessions of BrainHQ exercises.”
“These exercises can be tough, but you definitely improve,” Kovach remarked. He likened it to doing sit-ups, something else he incorporates into his regime, alongside high-intensity aerobic biking—an activity that has been shown to contribute to healthy brain aging. He also adheres to a heart-healthy diet.
What’s intriguing is that this brain training seems to trigger a process known as implicit learning, where one acquires skills without conscious effort—like learning to swim or tie shoelaces. “Implicit learning has a unique operational dynamic in the brain and tends to produce longer-lasting outcomes,” Albert pointed out.
BrainHQ’s speed-training task has users fix their attention on a computer screen. For a brief moment, either a car or a truck shows on the screen’s center, accompanied by a road sign off to the side. The task is to identify the vehicle and then click where the road sign appeared.
“If you had all day to study it, anyone could master it,” Mahncke stated. “But it’s not set up to give you that luxury. The image flashes quickly before disappearing.” As users progress, the exercises introduce additional distractions.
Is More Training Better?
Considering that even a modest amount of training can lead to notable benefits decades later is, in a word, astounding, according to Albert. But this raises an interesting question: what if individuals had continued with the speed training?
The National Institutes of Health-funded PACT study, which is still ongoing, has enrolled about 7,500 seniors, aiming to provide more answers. Unlike the ACTIVE study, which involved fewer hours, PACT requires participants to complete 45 sessions spread over multiple years.
Most scientists believe that this increased training duration will yield even greater advantages, though O’Brien cautions that people don’t need to feel compelled to embark on extensive mental marathons to safeguard their brains. The takeaway from the ACTIVE study indicates that just ten hours of training, along with a few follow-up sessions, can indeed make a difference. Some individuals might find that’s sufficient.
O’Brien noted that findings from the PACT study are expected around 2028, which should illuminate the benefits of extended training.
