Study Finds Visual Training Cuts Likelihood of Dementia in Half

A recent study shows that older adults who do computerized training exercises to improve visual processing speed are much more likely to delay the onset of dementia.

The study, conducted by the National Institute on Aging, had 2,802 cognitively stable seniors and included a 10-year follow up period, according to a Los Angeles Times article.

According to the article, Michael Merzenich, chief scientific officer of Posit Science and UC San Francisco neuroscientist, said that “the seemingly narrow skill of processing visual cues appears to be a pretty good indication of a person’s overall cognitive health. The new study suggests that when visual processing skills are improved by programs designed to build up those mental ‘muscles,’ people not only perform better in tests of that specific skill, they get better at a wide range of complex behaviors, he said. The cognitive benefits, in short, appear to be ‘generalized.’”

The results of the study were originally reported at the Alzheimer’s Association’s International Conference in Toronto.