New Brain Research Suggests Link Between Wellness and Lifelong Learning
by Judy Goggin
When Paul Nussbaum addressed conferees at the American Society on Aging
Annual Meeting held in Orlando, Fla., in March, he admitted at the outset,
"I'm an academic. My mother tells me she can't understand my writing beyond
the title." If the audience was concerned that they were in for an ivory-tower,
sleep-inducing talk, that concern was quickly dispelled. Director of the Aging
Research and Education Center in Pittsburgh, Pa., Nussbaum went on to explain
the latest brain research in laypeople's terms and made recommendations with
dramatic implications for the fields of aging and education.
As clinical professor of neurology at the University of Pittsburgh School
of Medicine, Nussbaum is grounded in the perspective that aging begins in
the womb and continues throughout the lifespan. Although he is heavily engaged
in research and writing, he was quick to point out that his task at the center
is to see that the research gets applied and to challenge staff not only to
"think out of the box, but also to behave out of the box."
Nussbaum described research findings that also were discussed in a Critical
Issues address at the Annual Meeting by Ronald Kotulak, author and science
writer of the Chicago Tribune. Earlier this year, researchers using
brain imaging technology found that cells can actually regenerate in the hippocampus--an
area of the brain vitally important to laying down new memories and information.
In another study, researchers reported that stem cells, which carry out the
blueprint for all cells, are able to make blood.
The findings, if proved valid and replicated, are so exciting to researchers
that Nussbaum believes they could revolutionize our whole approach to aging
in the 21st century:
Putting these two pieces of information together--that brain
cells can regenerate (neurogenesis) and that stem cells can make blood--gives
us exciting new information. Try to appreciate how radically different things
are today from how they seemed two months ago. If our hippocampus can regenerate
cells, we need to find out how that happens. We will then be able to discover
what that means for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, ms and stroke.
If we can find out how this works, then we may be able to get into cell transplantation
or teach the cells what to do differently.
Nussbaum pointed out that the implications are enormous not only for the
millions of Americans who suffer from these cruel and devastating diseases,
but also for tens of millions of older adults who do not.
The literature on the brain and education is beginning to support what some
educators have observed through their direct experience with older adult learners.
Carefully conducted studies are now providing data that points to the possibility
that learning may be a recipe for prevention of disease. Nussbaum highlighted
a number of points in this regard:
* The more education individuals have, the higher their occupational attainment
and the higher their iqs, the less likely they are to have Alzheimer's.
* Regular participation in certain social and leisure activities is associated
with lower risk of subsequent dementia.
* Early-life verbal acumen may offer resistance to dementia in later life.
"Wouldn't it be ironic," Nussbaum concluded, "if at the end of the story,
the answers to prevention of diseases are really available in what we do every
day?"
Nussbaum explained to his audience that environmental experiences are critically
important because they build brain cells and have a direct effect on brain
chemistry. What most excites Nussbaum is that education may produce a direct
effect on brain structure itself.
New theories developing as a result of this research suggest the following
conclusions:
* Education acts as a surrogate for the important environmental experiences
that build brain cells.
* The direct effect of education on brain structure continues throughout
life.
* Increased levels of education may alter individuals' ability to perform
well on tests of cognitive function.
* Among people with dementia, those who have higher levels of education
get diagnosed later, thereby shortening the course of their disease.
Such theories are known as the reserve capacity hypothesis. Nussbaum explained
this hypothesis simply:
You are building up your brain to have a reserve. If a cruel
disease hits, you have reserve cells. The disease will therefore have to fight
harder for the declining symptoms to express themselves. Education may not
affect the vulnerability, but it may delay the onset or
the severity of the symptoms. I eventually hope to learn that my hunch was
correct that the brain will actually heal itself. The brain is a phenomenal
miracle which has the capacity to do things we can still only imagine.
Implications and Visions
Most people understand that diseases of the brain are very costly in human
and financial terms. As evidence grows that disease can be ameliorated by
increased levels of education, Nussbaum believes that policymakers will need
to think about education in new terms. He even envisions an education that
starts in the womb by creating a rich environment there.
An emphasis on the lifelong benefits of early learning is shared by Ron
Kotulak, whose presentation at the asa Annual Meeting focused on the implications
of the new research findings on childhood education. Kotulak specifically
cited the success of Head Start, arguing for major funding increases for the
program. Both Nussbaum and Kotulak would probably agree that school systems
and early childhood education programs could become the wellness centers of
the 21st century. Students might be paid to go to school by their health insurer
because education reduces the risk of getting ill later in life.
The new knowledge about the brain leads Nussbaum to recommend that habits
of mental stimulation be maintained throughout life. His multidimensional
vision of learning in later life integrates older adults into society. Older
adults have the capacity to be much more than passive students. They represent
a vast resource for teaching, civic involvement and meaningful service.
Social Interaction Is Essential
Social interaction also is essential because, according to Nussbaum, "There's
something chemical and spiritual and important about being with others. Homo
sapiens is a gregarious species." Exercise is important for the healthy
brain, too: "After all," says Nussbaum, "every time your heart beats, 25 percent
of that blood flow goes right to the brain." But while exercise is critical,
it may be education that is more important. In the 21st century, education
and information may become for the brain what exercise is for the heart.
Nussbaum's message is encouraging, offering a striking new model leading
to a qualitatively better life "filled with more information, more knowledge,
more wisdom, more capacity." Nussbaum urged his colleagues in the field of
aging to take chances, to foster new ideas and to work together. "Never in
the history of the evolution of this planet Earth has there been a better
time to be interested in this field we call 'aging,'" he observed. "Rare is
the opportunity for any one of us to say, 'At my sunset, I contributed to
changing an approach for the human condition.' You won't find that in your
job description."
Judy Goggin is vice president for education and enterprise development
at Elderhostel in Boston.
