11/07/07 Of Mice and Men

Throughout the years as I have observed elderly members of our family slip into the throws of dementia and Alzheimer's I have noticed a common thread, they have all become increasingly mentally and physically inactive and socially isolated. I was recently reminded of a study conducted years ago at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies on the cognitive ability of mice. Researchers found that if they provided adult mice with an environment rich in toys, tunnels, bright colors, tasty treats and exercise wheels they could increase the little rodents brain cells by at least 15 percent. Even more remarkable was the fact that the mentally stimulated mice preformed much better on a variety of tests than the mice left alone in bare cages. Obviously it takes less effort to tempt a mouse into exploring a new environment than to get grandpa up out of his chair, or for that matter junior to set aside his video game and partake in actual conversation, but if we succeed, in mice as in men&. The results could prove to be well beyond our wildest expectations.