Originally published October 28 2005
Researchers determine white brain matter aids in concentration
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
University of Illinois researchers have conducted a study of mental concentration that proves aging has less to do with reduced concentration than the amount of white matter in the subject's brain.
Reporting in the current issue (September) of the quarterly journal Psychology and Aging, the scientists say there is less white matter in the frontal lobes of those who struggle with focusing.
The differences became apparent through the use of functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) imaging of the brains of 40 individuals ranging in age from 19 to 87.
Participants took part in a "flanker" experiment in which they viewed a line of five keyboard arrows on a computer screen and reacted by pushing one of four buttons that corresponded with the direction the center arrow was pointing.
The experiment allowed researchers to study the ability to focus on important information and inhibit inappropriate information, Kramer said.
Young people and high-functioning older adults tended to call upon tissue from the right frontal lobe -- specifically, the right middle frontal gyrus -- while some older, poorer-scoring participants also activated tissue in the left hemisphere (left middle frontal gyrus), said lead author Stan J. Colcombe, a research scientist at the Beckman Institute.
Previous research has shown similar results, followed by assumptions that other parts of the brain were activated by older people for assistance, not unlike using a cane to walk, Colcombe said.
In this case, however, fMRI unveiled that the poor-performing over-60 participants were the ones using both frontal hemispheres.
Looking at the high-resolution images taken by fMRI by way of a voxel-based morphometric technique, which provides a 3D view of brain structure, the scientists examined gray and white matter.
Gray matter represents neurons, or the processing units, while white matter can be thought of as the wiring that connects neurons.
Kramer and Colcombe theorize that the reduced white matter affects inhibition, the ability to turn off activation in the part of the brain not needed to complete a task.
Last year, Kramer, Colcombe and colleagues documented that six months of mild exercise significantly improved brain wiring and performance.
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