Dr. Rao is completing his own study comparing exercise and cognitive training in a different group of people.
WSJ: Exercise Might Beat Puzzles for Protecting the Aging Brain
Before beginning the study, participants were given standard cognitive tests, many involving executive-function tasks such as concentration and shifting from one mental task to another.
In a study published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience in 2011, researchers found that exposure to another person's stress sweat sharpened alertness.
Dr Lawrence Whalley of the University of Aberdeen, who has led research showing that smokers' cognitive ability decreases with time, said the current study findings were very important.
Assuming the relation between test scores and future growth is indeed causal, the OECD study also works out the economic benefits of improving cognitive skills by the equivalent of nine months' worth of schooling.
But another study on trust, by Judith Olson, a cognitive psychologist and professor of information and computer sciences at University of California, Irvine, showed that people who met virtually could predict behavior and establish trust if they had enough time.
About 30 years ago, study abroad programs became an important part of college commitments to cognitive dissonance.
FORBES: How Does Cognitive Dissonance Turn Students Into Leaders?
For example, the study found that whites were more likely than blacks to maintain their cognitive function with age.
In the new government-funded study, volunteers ages 75 and older with either normal mental function or mild cognitive impairment took a twice-daily placebo or ginkgo biloba extract (for a total of 240 milligrams per day).
Previous studies have shown that quick, insightful solutions tend to be more correct than analytic solutions (at least, for the types of tasks in the study), and other studies have shown that a positive mood enhances overall cognitive performance.
There were also cognitive and memory tasks that the drink did not seem to improve, according to the study, and the researchers should look further into what other improvements can be seen besides the verbal recall finding, Gu said.
CNN: Nutritional drink, imaging show promise for Alzheimer's
Meanwhile, a similar pilot study at the University of Missouri studied the use of Tai Chi as a method of cognitive rehabilitation for cancer survivors who had undergone chemotherapy.
FORBES: Are Yoga and Tai Chi Good Candidates For Physical Therapy?
When all the students tackled the same problems a second time, those who had done a simple, boring task during a break had more creative ideas than those who were assigned a tough cognitive puzzle, those who rested, or those who didn't take a break, says the study, co-authored by Jonathan Schooler, a psychology professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Fish oil "seems to be healthy in general, and maybe for other things it's helpful, but it doesn't benefit cognitive function in a person with Alzheimer's, " says Ferris, who was not involved in the study.
As the authors of the study point out, this is consistent with the growing literature from Heckman and others showing that non-cognitive skills affect outcomes.
应用推荐