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Women who find it difficult to think and move at the same time, an ability required to perform everyday tasks such as driving a car are at a higher risk of contracting Alzheimer's disease, suggests a new study. The researchers at York University in Canada found a link between performance in such tasks and a communication problem between different brain regions that promote simultaneous thinking and moving. (Read:Now, technology to detect Alzheimer's early )
The study, focused on women, was published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.
'We observed a relationship between the levels of deterioration in the brain wiring and their performance on our task that required simultaneous thinking and moving; what we see here is a result of communication failure,' said professor Lauren Sergio. The findings also suggest that their computerised, easily-administered task that the study participants performed, can be used to test those at risk for Alzheimer's disease to flag early warning signs, Sergio said. 'The test is a clinically feasible substitute to the more involved braining imaging tasks that people don't or can't have done routinely,' Sergio added. (Read:Symptoms and diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease0
Typically, Alzheimer's disease is associated with memory loss, perception and other aspects of cognition, while debility in complex movements is observed at a much later stage. The study was conducted on 30 female participants of whom 10 were in their mid-20s. The rest were in their 50s or older, with half of them at high risk for Alzheimer's disease.(Read:Eat walnuts to prevent Alzheimer's)
'We scanned the brains of the participants, aiming to see if the impaired cognitive-motor performance in the high risk group was related to brain alterations over and above standard ageing changes,' lead researcher Kara Hawkins said.The research suggests that a video game-like tool developed from the touch screen thinking and moving task used in the current study may be the next step in helping to improve communication between brain regions.
Source: IANS
Image source: Getty Images
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