In our efforts to keep our brains healthy, how do we know what is working? Helen Thomson explores a new generation of tests that can reveal whether our efforts are paying off.
Overview
Amid a growing cultural focus on proactive monitoring of individual brain health, emerging tools are beginning to provide measurable ways to track cognitive well-being over time with the goal of extending cognitive longevity. Researchers at Center for BrainHealth, part of The University of Texas at Dallas, are helping lead the search for better ways to measure and improve individual brain health. Director of Clinical Research Lori Cook, PhD, CCC-SLP, emphasizes the importance of personalized attention to brain health across the lifespan, including how the BrainHealth Index, the center's holistic measure of brain health, can provide guide how an individual tracks and responds to changes in cognitive, social and emotional well-being over time.“”
“We’re defining brain health not just as cognitive performance, but pulling from the World Health Organization’s definition of brain health, which includes social and emotional factors – how socially connected you are, how you manage stress and what activities you engage with.”
Dr. Lori Cook, Director of Clinical Research at Center for BrainHealth
In this article, Dr. Cook shares insights into measuring brain optimization and improvement over time, highlighting the work of Center for BrainHealth as an example of a broader, more holistic approach to tracking brain health. Cook emphasizes that brain health can improve over time regardless of a person's starting point, noting the importance of recognizing the potential for optimization and maintaining an upward trajectory throughout life. Launched in 2020, The BrainHealth Project aims to create a more comprehensive measure of brain health that can identify meaningful changes over time and help determine which habits and behaviors are most beneficial. The longitudinal study is designed to enroll up to 100,000 participants over 10 years, collecting cognitive data through brain training exercises, lifestyle information and physiological measures such as heart rate variability (HRV). Key features of the BrainHealth Project include its broad definition of brain health and its groundbreaking application of the BrainHealth Index to optimize personal brain health through continued tracking and individualized approaches to brain training. Approximately 40,000 people have already enrolled in the BrainHealth Project, which allows participants to use repeated Index scores and tools in the BrainHealth app for convenient tracking, monitoring and brain training. Cook emphasizes: “The score doesn’t define ‘normal’ ranges because its purpose is not to compare people or groups. It shows how an individual’s brain health can change and improve over time – it’s you against you.” Read the full article at New Scientist
