Research has shown the more education a person has, the
lower their risk for getting Alzheimer’s disease. Much of this is attributed to the “cognitive
reserve” theory. This theory asserts
that people who are more educated are able to function normally, even when the protein
plaques that cause Alzheimer’s disease begin to afflict their brains. The brains of the higher educated are better
equipped to work around any Alzheimer's related brain afflictions, thereby
keeping them mentally and verbally sharp.
A tremendous amount of emphasis is placed on the importance
of reading and cogitation in maintaining mental acuity and combating
Alzheimer’s. But I often wonder how much
we are underestimating the role of linguistics and the cerebral and physical
workouts the higher educated give their brains and bodies every time they
speak. Upon close examination,
cognition, word choice and the resulting manners of articulation are incredibly
intense forms of workouts that strengthen various muscles in our bodies and a specific
part of our brains. These linguistic workouts may also be instrumental in aiding
the higher educated in keeping Alzheimer’s at bay. Let me explain.
The tongue is the strongest muscle in the body. This incredible muscle, however, does not act
alone when helping us create speech. To
utter the simplest sentence the human body enlists the coordinated
assistance of nearly one hundred muscles in the chest, neck, jaw, and lips. Every word or phrase we think to speak is
stored in the speech area of the brain called the Broca’s area. This area of the brain controls speech
production, language processing and facial neuron control. It is also the area of the brain that degenerates
with the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
We all recognize the role exercise plays in overall physical
health and longevity. It stands to
reason that speech and its associative linguistic exercises play an integral
role in keeping our brains strong and healthy.
People with higher education tend to use more complex phraseology and
syntax, working the muscles associated with speaking more rigorously. This stimulates greater health in the Broca’s
area of the brain, which may possibly help keep Alzheimer’s degeneration at
bay. This is just my theory of
course. Speaking and manner of
articulation as a form of exercise best practiced by those with higher
education may seem far-fetched. But
given that so many muscles are used for speaking, I think acknowledging
linguistics as a legitimate form of “exercise” may be something worth
researching. If more overt forms of
exercise like running and swimming nourish the brain, surely speaking and
linguistics can be viewed as playing a pivotal role in cerebral health as well.
You bring up some very interesting points which are very thought provoking. I do agree that it is worth looking into and there is a possibility that speech exercises could slow the disease. However, based purely on speculation, I feel like the link may not be as strong as you hope. The comparison you make with physical exercise and longevity does not precisely line up with Alzheimer’s. It is my opinion that though processing for speech production may have some overlap with the areas of the brain that Alzheimer’s affects, it is more than likely they are not stimulated in a very similar way. The nature of the two are simply too different. Alzheimer’s is a form of dementia with memory loss as the primary symptom. Speech production is a primarily physical task, as you point out.
ReplyDeleteDespite my unpromising opinion, I do think that this is an interesting thought experiment which could lead to some very valuable research that teaches us even more about the mystery that is the brain.
This is a very interesting point. I think its possible that this hypothesis is reflected by reality. The only logical move that I am slightly skeptical of is the identity you've drawn between what we as humans consider complex phraseology and what our brain computes as being complex phraseology. Although more educated people use more complex words and grammar formations, it is completely conceivable that they have to do less thinking when speaking than those with less rigorous educations. Even if they both put the same effort into speaking, it is my impression that language use is somewhat mimetic and natural in that people dont usually think hard about the words they use when forming sentences -- they tend to reflect the rhetorical styles of those around them. Do you see my objection?
ReplyDeleteI think your hypothesis is very intriguing. However, I do agree somewhat with Anthony and Paul above. I don't think that the higher education correlation with Alzheimer's is directly linked to a correlation with speech production. I think it might be possible that people who use varying types of speech production could be less likely to have Alzheimer's, but I'm not sure if they produce varied types of speech because they are more educated.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be more interesting to see a correlation between people who have Alzheimer's and people who speak a second language. Learning a second language does not always mean a person has a "higher education level" than a monolingual person, but I do think that bilingualism might be a factor similar to that of education level. Being bilingual might be a more valid form of "exercise" than just speaking in general, because you may have to produce more sounds than a monolingual person, but also your brain probably has to do more work when thinking in two different languages.
Though I could very well be swayed into believing the correlation between "mental exercise" and lower rates of Alzheimers, I'm not sure if the process of speaking is as much of a workout as we might hope. Forming the words in a mental capacity, certainly. But physically? Does the movement of the tongue, the throat, the mouth, really have that much to do with keeping the brain sharp? I'm not so sure.
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely in agreement with Raci--I would guess that learning a second language would, in fact, be beneficial. I suspect that learning to make different sounds would be a much greater exercise than simply speaking a language full of noises to which one is entirely accustomed.
I think the idea of linguistics being a workout for the brain is really interesting. However, I question whether the manner and place of articulation are actually part of the workout. From what I can tell there are lots of muscles moved in every physical action (whether it involves producing a sound or not), thus physical activity generally would be a brain workout if your theory that the complex movements of the tongue and other muscles for speech is a brain workout is correct. I think the mental processing required for speech, however, may constitute a mental workout. Even when thinking to oneself (and therefore not producing speech sounds) I think there is a significant mental workout. Reading to oneself would also produce a similar effect as well. I suggest that if your theory is correct, then it would apply to the internal processing of speech and not to the physical production of speech.
ReplyDeleteVirgil, you present a very interesting hypothesis! However, from what I’ve learned about Alzheimer’s, not just any exercise will do: It has to be aerobic exercise. In the same vein as Laura, it doesn't seem like muscle movements engaged during speech production would typically count as aerobic exercise, unless one were constantly shouting or singing operatically!
ReplyDeleteAs for speech providing a mental workout that boosts cognitive reserve, I agree with Anthony that speech, regardless of education level, may be automatic, and therefore, does not recruit the kind of effortful memory retrieval required for a proper mental workout. Like Paul, I also question the strength of the correlation between higher education and Alzheimer’s disease. In my family, for example, I think genetics may be a stronger contributing factor than higher education. My grandaunt and grandfather have both been afflicted with symptoms of the disease, even though the former probably did more during her lifetime to build her “cognitive reserve,” since she used to be a teacher, then a research assistant, and read a lot throughout her life.
Coming back to the correlation you brought up, it's possible that there's a third variable mediating between higher education and Alzheimer’s. People with more education may tend to live in more affluent areas with fewer pollutants and better access to good healthcare. Another possibility is that people who have lower cognitive reserve to begin with may find it harder to read, write, remember facts, etc. and therefore may be less motivated to attain higher education or perform mental tasks that would boost their cognitive reserve. If we control for these other variables, the correlation between higher education and Alzheimer’s may not be as strong.
This is an intriguing and eloquently crafted hypothesis. I liked that you highlighted the fact that although the tongue is the strongest muscle in the body relative to size, it takes many more muscles just to produce simple phonemes. Applying language and the cognitive reserve theory to Alzheimer’s disease is a great idea, but I wouldn’t necessarily attribute having a higher education, perhaps more cognitive exercise in general, to a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease. I agree with Raci and Laura that learning a second language might contribute more to Alzheimer’s prevention than receiving higher education because language education is not only a new way of speaking but also a new way of thinking, thus giving the brain a little more exercise than speaking words already drilled into one’s vocabulary.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great point! The massive cognitive exercise that is speech production/interpretation is generally overlooked when considering "mental acuity" workout for Alzheimer's prevention. I have to say that I completely concur, and I think it would be extremely interesting to analyze the relationship between probability of getting Alzheimer's and polyglotism (or just more than one language). Your post reminds me that there is a possibility that exercising multiple languages moves more parts of the brain, as generally even translated words cover different connotations, and so more of the brain is active at that instant in time. Moreover, exposure to multi-medium linguistics also might help, such as watching movies with subtitles or playing an instrument from sheet music.
ReplyDeleteVirgil, your theory is very interesting and is very reasonable. But going off of what Anthony said, I wonder how much “brain power” people with higher education actually exercise when using more complex phraseology and syntax. If the words they use and the way those people assemble them come naturally to them, it seems to me that they are exercising their brains as much as not so well educated people who are just using their regular, less sophisticated speaking styles. A person who is not necessarily well educated but really tries to come up with more advanced phraseology while speaking might be exercising his or her brain more than the highly educated one.
ReplyDeleteThis blog post is very interesting, and I do recall the notion of “use it or lose it” being applied to some aspects of cognitive development, especially with respect to fluid intelligence. However, I think it’s more likely that linguistic activity most likely is a function of general intelligence, rather than being an isolated element that contributes more significantly than general intelligence does. Since the problems emerging from Alzheimer’s are top-down, rather than bottom up, the amount of work that the tongue does is irrelevant, except that the brain might have stronger connections upon further use. Still, since most people communicate with language, be it through their tongues or otherwise, the margin of “workout” is probably relatively insignificant, when compared to general cognitive function. However, I think using linguistic capacities more frequently is probably a good way to promote general brain health, especially since these functions (i.e. word puzzles) often prod higher level functions as well.
ReplyDeleteVergil,
ReplyDeleteI think your theory is very strong—a study by Snowdon et al. in 1996 tested a similar hypothesis titled “Linguistic ability in early life and cognitive function and Alzheimer's disease in late life.” The study’s goal was fairly straightforward, and reminded me of your theory. Snowdon and his team wanted “to determine if linguistic ability in early life is associated with cognitive function and Alzheimer's disease in late life.” They performed the test by analyzing cognitive skills of participants, who were all nuns, using autobiographies written when they were ~22. The results were very interesting and completely corroborate your theory—low linguistics skills such as bad syntax and limited vocabulary in their autobiographies were associated with lower cognitive skills later in life. Among the 14 nuns who died from Alzheimer’s, all shower significant lack of idea density in the text of their autobiographies. Although you argued that verbal use of language may have been associated, I still think this study supports your theory.
Snowdon, D. A. "Linguistic Ability in Early Life and Cognitive Function and Alzheimer's Disease in Late Life. Findings from the Nun Study."JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association 275.7 (1996): 528-32. Web.
I would have to agree with Anthony's point that higher education does not necessarily mean the brain is getting more exercise during thought. I think there is a valuable correlation to be drawn between higher education and simply more thinking. A higher education may set you up for a life of more sustained challenges. In fact, Alzheimer's 3rd prevention pillar is mental stimulation. People who continue to learn new things and challenge their brains throughout their life are less likely to develop dementia. Indeed, use it or lose it.
ReplyDeleteHowever, Alzheimer's prevention includes 6 pillars of a brain-healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise, healthy diet, active social life and quality sleep. It is hard to know how much mental stimulation plays a part in keeping our brains healthy. Findings made in studies spanning decades are often under fire.
This post was my first exposure to any of this knowledge on the prevention of Alzheimer's, so it was interesting simply to see this "cognitive reserve" theory at all. More so, I think that your linking of linguistic ability and the prevention of this disease or continued functioning with it is a worthy connection to make, especially in respect to the fact that said brain area deteriorates upon the disease's onset, as well as the study that Caleb posted in his comment. I simply wondering whether the practice of complex language is such is a mental workout that it helps prevent the disease, or merely a sign of a healthy and capable brain. Perhaps there is an underlying factor related to the health of the brain, and this factor both lends itself to strong linguistic ability as well as steadfastness against Alzheimer's. I look forward to more research in this area, and acknowledging these relations can help foster ideas for such research.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting post as I had never been exposed to the theory of "cognitive reserves" and its ensuing role in the prevention of Alzheimer's Disease. If this theory is indeed true, it would follow that the logic behind your argument is also sound. However, I find that one piece of evidence is necessary in order to strengthen the argument. If you linguistic workout hypothesis were to hold, we would need to show that using fancier words and more complex syntax indeed causes greater activation in the Broca's area of the brain. If these piece of neuroscience indeed came to fruition I think it would be safe to say that a linguistic workout could be considered a form of Alzheimer prevention via the cognitive reserve theory.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up an interesting point in connecting the effects of speaking on the brain to the effects of physical activity on the brain. To me, the more logical connection between speech and memory would be from a cognitive standpoint (accessing words and forming complex phrases) rather than a physical standpoint, but I find the hypothesis intriguing and would like to see if there has been any research done on the topic. I do agree with the idea of bilingualism improving memory; the act of learning a second language has been shown to improve memory, even without necessarily achieving mastery of the language. Learning a new language forces the brain to forge new connections between objects, concepts, and actions and their linguistic counterparts, thereby literally redefining everything it experiences. This is a true cognitive workout, to the point where speaking in a non-native tongue for extended periods of time can be exhausting. This conditions the brain to use and develop less-exercised pathways, which could logically lead to improved memory overall.
ReplyDeleteI like your point that the higher educated are less likely to develop Alzheimer's because they generally use more sophisticated linguistic structures when they speak. I think this idea is very closely related to the benefits of learning new languages, and that studying foreign languages may achieve the "brain-conditioning" goal far more quickly than anything someone can do in his or her native language. While scholars may occasionally use more complex syntax and vocabulary, and act which most definitely exercises their brains, this doesn't seem comparable to the total mental overhaul that foreign languages require. Learning varying ways of conveying the same meaning, in one's native language or not, is most definitely a mental workout.
ReplyDeleteWhile I find this assertion incredibly interesting, I am confused by the correlation between education and language. While the well-educated are assumed to have a larger vocabulary, do they truly communicate more than their less-educated counterparts? You state, “To utter the simplest sentence the human body enlists the coordinated assistance of nearly one hundred muscles in the chest, neck, jaw, and lips.” If the simplest of sentences produce such major brain stimulation in the Broca’s area, then does the theory that language is the reason why well-educated people tend to be less susceptible to Alzheimer’s related brain afflictions truly hold up? Just a thought even though I definitely think this is an interesting concept. Great blog!
ReplyDelete