Early in October a team of researchers from the Wellcome Trust and Medical Research Council of the University of Oxford in England, U.K. , published the results of a new study discussing how juggling and similar activities increase brain connections.

In brain scans of 48 subjects made after an extensive 6-week practice period, the researchers observed changes in regions of the brain’s white matter that are linked with reaching, grasping, and peripheral vision, independently from the acquired level of juggling skill.

These results suggest that it is not how well a person learns to do something that matters, but rather that the time spent practising and training is the key to improving the brain function. So, when engaging in such an activity as brain training, it is essential to do it over a period of time to realise the positive changes and benefits.   You can read more about the findings here.

A new study suggests that the ability to perceive relationships between objects (visual spatial skills) may decline up to 3 years before a person is formally diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.  Read more in this Health Day article

Did you manage to match the right sports with the right skills?

Here are the answers from the prior blog post:

Can you match which cognitive skills are needed for excellence in all sports? For example, in the game of horseshoes, hand-eye coordination and mental focus are critical to a successful game. How about swimming, rowing or tennis?

Find out the answers tomorrow in our blog!

Cognitive capabilities are important to strengthen for continued safe driving as we age. In recent years, state-sponsored research in Maryland has shown that if a driver fails a cognitive test, he is 25 percent more likely to be involved in a crash. That’s quite an statistic.

The good news is that the cognitive abilities important to driving can be prolonged and even rehabilitated even if they are in decline. The brain gets lulled by routine, which does little to stimulate new cell growth. But challenged to adjust to new locales and situations, cognitive abilities can recover.

If older drivers are healthier and more alert, they may be driving differently, to different places and have different travel patterns, such as spending more time on highways, which are the “safest types of roads for them” according to the auto insurance industry.

Here’s a reminder of the cognitive skills required for driving:

• The motor skill of driving requires co-ordination
• Analysis of the street and highway environment requires good shape perception, visuo-spatial analysis, visual and selective attention skills
• Awareness and monitoring of the traffic patterns and situations involves executive functions.

So keep up your structured cognitive cross training routine and you’ll be a safer driver.