Dallas study on brain health puts seniors' minds to work

Sherry Jacobson

Jun. 5, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Highland Park Cafeteria may get a run for its money as the most popular place in Casa Linda Plaza for the over-60 crowd.

A University of Texas at Dallas brain scientist has rented out a nearby storefront, where she's having elderly people spend 15 hours a week trying to stimulate their brains.

Neuroscientist Denise C. Park, an expert on the aging brain, assigns her elderly volunteers to learn quilting, digital photography or other activities.

But they're not just looking for a fun way to pass the time.

It's a five-year scientific experiment masquerading as a crafts class. And the researchers are hoping for no less than a breakthrough on how to stave off the cognitive decline that comes with aging.

"We've never really tried to change people's lives and seen if it also changes their brains," Park told several dozen elderly volunteers as they finished a 16-week course of activities this week.

"This is the most complex, highly intense project I've ever run in 30 years of being an academic," she said as the participants displayed their colorful quilts and photographs and also shared several bottles of congratulatory champagne.

"I learned to do things that I never thought I'd ever do," said 78-year-old Bob Branham of Dallas, who proudly displayed quilt projects he had made since September.

Branham said he started out being interested in the research aspect of the project but ended up creating an Internet site to market his quilting. "I fell in love with it," he said.

About 80 volunteers, ages 60 to 87, have taken part in the brain study. When the research concludes in mid-2011, about 400 will have participated. The next group will start July 20.

Volunteers are randomly divided into six groups -- either to learn digital photography or quilting from professionals or to attend social events as part of group outings or even to stay home and complete brain-stimulating activities alone.

"We really want to find things that will get their brains working and, hopefully, they'll be interested in doing it for the long term," said Dr. Jennifer Lodi-Smith, a postdoctoral research fellow who oversees the project day to day.

There are several requirements to become a volunteer, but most important, participants must spend at least 15 hours a week on their assigned activities.

"We nag a little bit if they're not giving us 15 hours," Lodi-Smith said.

Each volunteer is paid $300 to $400.

Park said she devised the experiment after realizing that little to no research had been done to prove the benefit of keeping your mind active as you age. A regent's research scholar, Park also holds the T. Boone Pickens Distinguished Chair in Cognitive Brain Science at UTD.

"Everybody believes that if you keep your mind active, you'll maintain your cognitive health," she said. "But no studies actually prove that."

She defined cognitive health as the ability to be aware, to think, to make judgments and to learn.

Her experiment, "Synapse: Actively Engaging the Aging Mind," will cost nearly $2 million. Most of it comes from the National Institute on Aging, which increasingly funds research that addresses societal fears about the loss of mental capacity as people age.

"We have lots of observational evidence that individuals involved in social and intellectual activities have better cognitive health," said Dr. Jonathan King, a project director for cognitive aging research at the institute.

What is not known, he added, "is if you start these activities in mid- to late-life, does it actually do you any good?"

Park said the tragedy of the aging process is that science has managed to keep people physically healthy much longer than many people remain mentally alert.

"At age 80, we see a 45 percent rate of Alzheimer's and dementia," she said. "I think we have the potential here to improve cognition and to slow the decline."

So far, the study's participants have included a range of retirees -- a Dallas judge, a police detective, teachers, stay-at-home moms, several scientists and a few attorneys.

Florence Fletcher, an 85-year-old retired attorney and mediator, said she signed up because she understood the importance of being a research subject.

But after visiting virtually every museum in Dallas with her group of volunteers, Fletcher said she learned something equally important.

"I recognized the importance of maintaining social interactions," she said.

Being involved in this study isn't all fun and games.

Most of the subjects will undergo MRI tests at UT Southwestern Medical Center -- before and after the project and again a year later -- for comparison. The researchers hope to measure any changes in brain function that could be attributed to the experiment.

"Having the MRI as part of the study is what we see as so groundbreaking," Lodi-Smith said.

King agreed. "This could be very interesting to the extent that we can find out if this activity changes brain structure."

The study's results will not be known until the data has been analyzed and published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, sometime in late 2011 or 2012.

However, the benefits already have been tallied for some participants.

"This is probably the most rewarding experience socially that I've ever had," said Jane Sheldon, 64, a one-time art gallery director, who learned to quilt.

"It's very important to challenge your mind," she stressed. "You should never stop learning."

THE STUDY

About the $2 million research experiment, "Synapse: Actively Engaging the Aging Mind"

HOW IT WORKS

-- Paid participants must commit at least 15 hours a week for 16 consecutive weeks.

-- Each person is appointed to one of six groups and assigned to learn a new activity or participate in social outings or stay home and do certain stimulating activities.

-- The purpose is to determine whether engaging subjects in a stimulating activity -- such as digital photography or quilting -- promotes a healthier mind in people older than 60.

-- Most participants undergo two sets of MRI imaging, one at the beginning of the project and one at the end.

REQUIREMENTS TO PARTICIPATE

-- Must be 60 years or older.

-- Must have at least a 10th-grade education.

-- Must be fluent in English.

-- Must provide own transportation to Casa Linda Plaza or the C.C. Young retirement center near White Rock Lake.

PARTICIPANTS

-- 400 elderly volunteers are needed between now and May 2011.

-- Each participant gets $300 to $400 for completing the project.

-- Anyone interested should call 972-883-3200.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

-- The study is funded by the National Institute on Aging in conjunction with the Center for Brain Health at the University of Texas at Dallas and the Advanced Imaging Research Center at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

SOURCE: University of Texas at Dallas

Newstex ID: 35532456