Neuroplasticity: How the Brain Changes at Any Age

Hello everybody. Welcome to a new episode of the

truth, lies and Alzheimer's show. I'm Lisa Skinner, your

host, I am so appreciative of you being here with me today to

listen to this really fascinating topic called

neuroplasticity. Some of you may have heard of it. Some of you

may have not, but it is truly a fascinating thing within our

brains that gives us the ability to reorganize itself by forming

new neural connections across all ages, and it's driven by

experience training and our environment. So why would this

even matter? Why? Why should you care? Well, because it enhances

our ability to learn and remember things. It aids

recovery after an injury, and it supports adapting to new skills

and to new environments. Neuroplasticity includes

structural changes or new connections and functional

changes, which are how networks in our brain activate during

tasks. There are four different types of plasticity. There's

experience dependent, there's use dependent, also synonymous

with the adage, use it or lose it. There's injury induced

plasticity, and there's pharmacologically modulated

plasticity. Evidence from our daily lives include musical

training changes the cortical maps in our brain. Learning to

juggle induces rapid brain remodeling, meditation has been

shown to affect attention networks in our brain and gray

matter, language learning reshapes bilateral language

networks in our brains, the life span perspective of

neuroplasticity will start with infancy and childhood, that

includes rapid plasticity and critical periods in adulthood.

It's slower but robust with deliberate practice in aging.

Plasticity continues to persist, mitigated by mental activity,

physical activity, sleep and social engagement, so some of

the factors that promote healthy plasticity are deliberate,

repetitive practice, adequate sleep for consolidation,

nutrition, especially omega threes, physical exercise has

shown to increase and support our circulation. Cognitive

challenges and novelty stress management to avoid chronic

stress, and some of the practical applications for

stimulating neuropressicity are deliberate practice, spaced

repetition and learning fundamentals, rehabilitation,

targeted repetitive therapy, mental health therapies that

leverage plasticity habit changes, make small habit

changes and keep your routines fairly consistent. Education,

you're using your multi sensory functions, and that promotes

active learning. Now, some of the common misconceptions of

plasticity is that, and that's why I'm sharing this with you

today. Because one of the misconceptions is that

plasticity is only exclusive to children, but it is

scientifically shown to persist and but it does vary with age.

It is not unlimited. It doesn't end with childhood. It continues

on throughout our lifespan, and that relearning is very possible

with targeted practice. So that's. Neuroplasticity. And I

think the the main point we want to take away from what I just

shared with you is that our brains continue to expand and

learn throughout our entire lives, which was kind of negated

before, so we can continue to learn and stimulate our brains

and create new neurons well into our 70s, 80s and beyond, and

that's really the main takeaway from the information that I'm

sharing with you on this topic. Now I do have some news you can

use for you today, and that is that not all depression predicts

dementia. It has been shown a correlation between depression

and a risk of developing dementia. So what we know now is

that six specific symptoms can predict it even 23 years later,

appetite changes, no risk, loss of confidence, 50% higher risk.

That's based on a study done by Lancet psychiatry in December of

2025, very recently, 50 811 adults were studied over a 23

year period. 30 symptoms were assessed. 10% of those 50 811

adults, 10% developed dementia. Now the six predictable factors

were loss of confidence. Gave them a 50% higher risk, a

difficulty coping, 50% higher unable to feel affection

increases the risk. Always nervous increases the risk. Poor

concentration increases the risk, and dissatisfied with

tasks. Now here are five that don't increase the risk, and I

find this really surprising, having suicidal ideations or

thoughts, appetite changes, physical complaints, guilt and

feeling hopelessness. So why do these matter? That it really is

based on executive dysfunction and not our moods. There are

many cognitive symptoms that are actually disguised as

depression, like the loss of confidence, difficulty coping,

can't feel affection, always nervous, poor concentration. The

difference mood, depression, sadness and sleep, no elevated

risk. So I'm going to give you a couple examples. Here's a real

case scenario, 58 year old has been depressed for two years.

He's lost confidence. He has work struggles. He can't solve

problems easily. He was on three failed antidepressants. He was

tested for executive dysfunction and frontotemporal changes. Now

this gentleman was diagnosed with dementia, not depression,

but it was delayed for two years. So why do these things

get missed by physicians, because doctors will ask

questions like, Are you feeling sad? Have you lost interest in

anything? Are you sleeping poorly? But they should ask,

have you noticed that your problem solving abilities have

changed, if so, in what ways are you less confident than you were

before? In what ways are you less confident, and if you

notice that your concentration is different from before, are

you less able to concentrate? So what changes have you noticed?

If depression has cognitive symptoms, ask for an evaluation.

Don't accept. Oh, this is definitely depression, or this

is just depression without being tested for it, especially if

you're between the ages of 45 and 65 with no prior depression,

a gradual onset of depression and meds that just don't work

for depression. So here's a good timeline to follow. Midlife

symptoms predict dementia, but 20 to 30 years later, treatment

approaches can be mood symptoms and emotional work cognitive

symptoms, executive training and neuro workup. So the bottom line

is that cognitive symptoms in midlife matter more than our

moods. Pay attention to the symptom type. Does your

depression include cognitive changes, and that will be a lot

of help to your physician in differentiating between a

cognitive situation developing and depression. So hopefully

that was helpful. This was brought to us by Dr GOMI Risa

GOMI, somebody commented that loss of confidence, trouble

coping and poor connection aren't just emotional. They can

be early signs of cognitive decline that show up decades

before dementia. So this is really an important thing to pay

attention to and to monitor and to discuss with your physician,

could make a huge difference for you later in life. So that will

wrap up this episode for the truth lies in Alzheimer's show.

I'm Lisa Skinner, your host, thanks again for being here and

have great rest of your week. Try to stay happy always and

healthy always. And I will be back next week with another

episode of the truth, lies and Alzheimer's show. I'm Lisa

Skinner, your host, take good care for now. Bye, bye.