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An active mind has been found to have protective effects on the brain (JW Psychiatry May 25 2012). A new study has now examined the interaction of “purpose in life” with cognition and with postmortem neuropathology of Alzheimer disease.
Purpose in life was defined as an ability to derive meaning from experience and to behave with intentionality and goal directedness. The 246 nondemented elderly participants had yearly cognitive testing until death (mean age at death, 88), and their purpose in life was measured at a mean of 3.9 years before death.
Analyses controlled for depression, APOE4 alleles, medical illness, and other relevant confounding factors. Amyloid, neurofibrillary tangles, and their combination were associated with reduced cognit…