Oxford dementia study into exercise benefits for brain

Doing simple computer tasks and exercising could prevent the brain declining, according to research.

Volunteers aged 60 and over are needed to help understand how the brain adapts and changes during ageing.

Researchers hope it could improve exercise treatment programmes for people with early stage dementia.

The Cognitive Health in Ageing project will ask if exercise slows brain degeneration or increases its ability to compensate.

The studies will be led by university researchers at the Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity (OHBA) and Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB).

Volunteers will undergo either a 12-week programme of physical exercise or a four-week programme of computer-based brain training tasks.

The research is supported by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, a collaboration between the Oxford NHS Hospitals Trust and Oxford University.