Brain Fitness Industry

As Minds Age, What's Next? Brain Calesthenics

Pam Belluck

New York Times

excerpt:

From “brain gyms” on the Internet to “brain-healthy” foods and activities at assisted living centers, the programs are aimed at baby boomers anxious about entering their golden years and at their parents trying to stave off memory loss or dementia.

“This is going to be one of the hottest topics in the next five years — it’s going to be huge,” said Nancy Ceridwyn, co-director of special projects for the American Society on Aging. “The challenge we have is it’s going to be a lot like the anti-aging industry: how much science is there behind this?

Many organizations are described as being interested:
AARP, the Alzheimer's Association, Apple, Lockheed Martin, Metlife, Humana, Emeritus Assisted Living, National Institute on Aging,
Products: Posit Science, Maintain Your Brain (Alzheimer's Assn)

Nintendo: Brain Age,

Websites: HappyNeuron.com, MyBrainTrainer.com

Researchers: Marilyn Albert (Hopkins), Lynda Anderson (CDC), Davind Loewenstein (U of Miami), Paul Nussbaum, Nancy Ceridwyn (American Society on Aging)

“Right now,” said Dr. Marilyn Albert, director of cognitive neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University, “we can’t say to somebody, ‘We know that if you walk a mile every day for the next six months, your memory’s going to be better.’ We don’t know that if you do certain kinds of puzzles it’s going to have a benefit.”

(photo credit: susan_NYC)

technorati tags:aging, antiaging, brain, brainfitness, mentalaging, brainaging, alzheimers, AD, dementia, gerontology