Brain Health: Glossary and new Roadmap
On June 10th something wonderful happened, and the media hasn't paid much attention yet. On that day, the National Public Health Road Map to Maintaining Cognitive Health was released by the CDC and the Alzheimer's Association. IIN this article, I want to first share with you the 10 top actions proposed by this report, and then read more here provide a quick glossary to explain the key words that you will hear more and more when discussing brain health.
On June 10th something wonderful happened, and the media hasn't paid much attention yet. On that day, the National Public Health Road Map to Maintaining Cognitive Health was released by the CDC and the Alzheimer's Association. The authors proposed a set of 44 actions to reach a lofty goal: To maintain or improve the cognitive performance of all adults accross America. This is great timing, given all the research and media attention that this field is getting, and the aging of the baby boomer population..
I want to first share with you the 10 top actions proposed by this report, and then provide a quick glossary to explain the key words that you will hear more and more when discussing brain health.
1) To ascertain how diverse groups think about brain health and its relationship with lifestyle factors. This work has already resulted in a phenomenal report on Baby boomers' attitudes towards Brain Fitness.
2) To disseminate the latest science to increase public understanding of cognitive health and to dispel common misconceptions. The discovery of lifelong neuroplasticity and neurogenesis (see glossary below) has given us a new positive view upon the human brain - This is still a concept not many know of. "Use it or lose it" and "Use It and Get More of It" needs to reach all people.
3) Help people understand the connection between risk and protective factors and cognitive health. Good lifestyle habits were superbly presented in the MacArthur study of successful aging: good nutrition, mental and physical exercise, stress management and social engagement.
4) Assess the literature on risk factors (vascular risk and physical inactivity) and related interventions for relationships with cognitive health. As Dr. Marilyn S. Albert at John Hopkins points it out: All the things that we know are bad for your heart turn out to be bad for your brain.
5) More scientific tests will be done to establish the impact of reducing vascular risk factors on lowering the risk of brain decline and improving mental function. Recent findings presented at International Conference on Prevention of Dementia are one big step in the right direction.
6) Further, more research will be conducted on other areas potentially affecting cognitive health such as nutrition, mental activity, and social engagement.
7) The last research focus is on determining the effect of physical activity on reducing the risk of cognitive decline and improving cognitive function.
8) The government will develop a population-based surveillance system to measure the public health burden of cognitive impairment in the United States.
9) Launch public policy projects at all levels to promote brain health by engaging government officials.
10) Brain Fitness will be included in Healthy People 2020, a set of health objectives for the nation that will serve as the foundation for state and community public health plans.
