A 2012 study, brought to our attention by noted endocrinologist
Dr. Joel Ehrenkranz, entitled The ageing cortical synapse: hallmarks and
implications for cognitive decline (by John H. Morrison & Mark G.
Baxter) offers new and thought-provoking
insights into how and why cognition declines with age.
The breakthrough
idea is that the deterioration can be related to stress, anxiety and hormonal
changes, and as such, cognitive impairment should be treated
as a systemic
problem, rather than a localized condition of the prefrontal cortex, for
example.
To quote the paper
itself: “The data on the effects of stress and sex steroids on the ageing brain
and cognition… make it clear that the brain cannot be viewed in isolation with
respect to the neurobiological basis of cognitive decline. Given the impact of
menopause on women’s health, as well as the requirements to maintain optimal executive
function in the face of stressful conditions, future work should target the
nature of these interactions with an eye towards interventions that might be behavioural
as well as pharmaceutical. “
The research was
conducted in monkeys and rodents, but the implications for human cognition are
significant.
You can read the article
at http://www.nature.com/nrn/journal/v13/n4/full/nrn3200.html
Here’s the point:
it seems that almost daily, science uncovers more ways that stress can harms
us… everything from damaging the heart to compromising immunity to encouraging
weight gain and altering metabolism… and now (it seems) to speeding our
cognitive decline.
There just seems to
be no end to the negative, long-tail effects of stress, anxiety and excess
cortisol.
The link between stress and mental decline needs a lot more
research… but for aging boomers, in particular, finding ways to reduce stress
and normalize cortisol seems like a very prudent thing to do.
Meditation, massage therapy, supplementation to normalize
cortisol (p-serine is a good place to start), and any number of relaxation
techniques will help reduce stress and anxiety and that’s always, always a good
thing.
NOTE: The use of formulations like Sanyx (http://MySanyx.com) to lower
stress-induced cortisol can be a solid first step in mitigating the negative
effects of stress and anxiety.
