|
E-mail this page to a friend!
Long-Term Stress Is Why Some Senior Citizens Have
Poor Memories
May 18, 2005 A new study says the negative
effects of long-term stress are the reason why some older adults show
poor brain function and perform poorly on memory tests.
Chronic stress can be harmful - to your health and
also to your brain, according to the researchers at the Douglas Hospital
Research Center. Their findings, published in a recent issue of
Psychoneuroendocrinology, show increased stress hormones lead to memory
impairment in the elderly and learning difficulties in young adults.
"Stress has become more commonplace and accepted in
our everyday lives," says Sonia J. Lupien, PhD, lead author and director
of the Laboratory of Stress Research at the Douglas. "Many studies show
the negative impact of stress on physical health such as blood pressure,
heart disease etc, but few address the effects on mental health. Our
studies look directly at the long term effects of stress, or stress
hormones, on brain function."
Lupien and colleagues measured the stress hormone,
cortisol, in older adults over a period of three to six years. Their
findings showed that individuals who had continuous high levels of
cortisol, performed poorly on memory tests and had a notably smaller
hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for learning and memory.
"This study clearly shows the negative effects of
long-term stress," says Lupien. "This explains why some older adults
show poor brain function while others perform very well. Perhaps,
through early interventions, we can modify the cortisol levels and
enhance brain function of the at-risk individuals. "
Lupien and her research team also looked at the
affects of stress on young adults and children between the ages of six
and fourteen. In young adults, they showed that even an acute increase
in cortisol can lead to reversible memory impairments. In young
children, they compared the cortisol levels of children from low and
high socioceconomic status (SES) and found children from low SES had
higher cortisol levels.
"Similar to our findings with the older adult, stress was an important
modulator of brain function in children as well," says Lupien. "All
these studies show that people of all ages are sensitive to stress, and
we need to acknowledge the importance of this factor on our mental
health."
About the source:
The funding for this research includes grants from
the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the John and Catherine
MacArthur Foundation and the Fonds de la recherche en santι du Quιbec.
Affiliated to McGill University and the World
Health Organization, the Douglas Hospital Research Centre is one of the
largest in the country, with a team of over 60 scientists and clinical
researchers and 140 post-graduate students. This team is devoted to
understanding the causes of mental disorders - whether genetic,
environmental, cultural or social - as well as developing diagnostic
tools, treatments and prevention methods.
Click to More Senior News on the
Front Page
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
