Brain health can keep improving into your 80s and beyond, new study reveals

A new study has revealed that getting older does not mean losing mental sharpness, but the brain health and cognitive abilities can continue to improve throughout life. The findings were discovered by researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas' Centre for BrainHealth (CBH) after three years of study. The research article, published in Scientific Reports, a Nature journal, drew on data from The BrainHealth Project (BHP), an initiative started by CBH in 2020 to understand the ability of people to strengthen and optimise brain health across the lifespan.

Researchers found 3,966 adults aged between 19 and 94, representing roughly one-fifth of all BrainHealth Project participants. Over the course of three years, participants finished a small training that required only five to 15 minutes per day. During the activity, the team used the BrainHealth Index (BHI), a patent-pending assessment developed by CBH researchers, which was first introduced in a 2021 pilot study.

The BHI is formulated to find both improvements and declines in brain health, measuring three primary areas: clarity, emotional balance, and connectedness to people and purpose. "The BrainHealth Index brings together about 20 metrics, including validated gold-standard measures like the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, as well as tasks designed at the Centre for BrainHealth to focus on more complex thinking skills," said Lori Cook MS'02, PhD'09, CBH director of clinical research and corresponding author of the Scientific Reports study. "This battery of assessments produces insights into individual brain health and change over time. Progress is measured by comparing results with participants' own earlier scores."

Cook, who is also employed as an adjunct assistant professor in the School of Behavioural and Brain Sciences, stated that the discovery challenges common assumptions about ageing and cognition. "Every brain is as unique as a fingerprint and has growth potential," Cook said. "This study challenges the prevailing narrative of inevitable cognitive decline, suggesting instead that brain health can be proactively cultivated at any age."

Brain is defined by possibility, says study

According to the researchers, positive changes were observed even among participants in their 80s, showing that efforts to improve brain health can be beneficial long before symptoms or disease appear and can remain effective later in life. "For too long, we've operated under the outdated notion that we need to wait until something bad happens to our brains before we do anything for them," said Sandra Bond Chapman, PhD'86, senior author of the study, CBH chief director and Dee Wyly Distinguished University Chair for BrainHealth. "This study reminds us that our brain is not defined by age -- it is defined by possibility."

One of the key findings of the study was that participants who began with the lowest BrainHealth Index scores showed the greatest gains over the course of the research. "Those who are starting at the lowest level appear to have the most opportunity for growth and may be coming in with more preexisting concerns," Cook said. "As such, they may be more motivated to invest the time needed to see more growth potential. But it is noteworthy that we saw measurable growth even in those entering as high performers."

Researchers identified engagement as the most significant factor driving improvement. Variables such as age, gender, and educational background did not influence whether participants benefited. However, Cook pointed out that the study sample was not fully reflective of the general population, as most participants were white, female, and had a college education.

"We have room to grow when it comes to representation for different demographic groups," she said. "We're working hard to increase representation, so we can be even more confident in how this generalises to the population at large, especially communities typically underrepresented in research."

Cook, who has collaborated with Chapman for over 25 years since starting as a research assistant, said she appreciates CBH's integrated approach that combines clinical research, practical care, and community engagement. She also stressed the need to present scientific discoveries in ways that are understandable and relevant to the public.

"One piece that is so near and dear to my heart is helping people link neuroplasticity with self-agency," she said. "Brain health isn't just something we strive to maintain; we can actively shape it over time. Research like ours, which provides an objective measure of brain health that people can track over time, can only further boost public awareness."

The BrainHealth Project continues to gather long-term insight through additional studies and follow-up research. As part of these efforts, around 400 participants from the Dallas region have undergone more than 1,200 brain scans at the Sammons BrainHealth Imaging Centre. Cook further added that the dataset provides an opportunity to look at neural metrics linked with the BHI, giving the capacity to use periodic brain imaging to figure out future brain mechanisms linked with changes in brain health over time.