Brain Disturbance: Contrary to the popular belief, being idle-minded and dimwitted has its own set of advantages. Research conducted at Harvard Medical School shows that the people whose brain works too much or who think too hard can die younger. Under the research, post-death brain tissues were analyzed and the tissues of centenarians were compared to the tissues of those who died relatively earlier. This research gave birth to a study that was published in the journal “Nature”. As per this study, the brains of people who died at an age of 100 had something that was missing in the brains of those who died in their 60s and 70s.
Popular Beliefs
This missing something was the REST (RE-1Silencing Transcription) protein. It is a kind of protein that helps in quieting down the activity of brain and reacts to genes that spark the brain while thinking. According to previous studies, this protein is also known for being capable of providing protection against Alzheimer’s disease. It was discovered that the brain tissue of centenarians contained a lot more of this protein while tissues of those who died in their 60s and 70s had relatively little.
Brain Disturbance: At present, it is impossible to calculate or measure the amount of REST protein in the brain of a living person. In order to understand this relationship better, the researchers used mice and worms prior to start experimenting on human brains. They increased and decreased their brain activity to further their testing. The result of this experiment was similar to the one on human brains. It was concluded that animals without any REST protein in their brain tissues died much faster compared to the others.
Physiology behind it
The report’s lead author, Professor Bruce Yankner, gave a statement that said that this research can have very far-ranging consequences in the fields of life span and physiology. He said, “An exciting future area of research will be to determine how these findings relate to such higher-order human brain functions”. Yankner is a neurology and genetics professor at the Harvard Medical School and is presently studying how drugs that target the REST protein can treat diseases like Alzheimer’s, or the aging process itself. But scientists are still very much in the dark about how exactly it is related to life span. As per Yankner, this research can also reveal potential advantages of other activities which affect neural rhythms, like meditation, which according to him might help in treating memory loss.
Brain Disturbance: So, now its scientifically proven that too much brain activity may result in a shorter life span and staying mentally active may not really be the wisest course of action for those who wish to live a long life. To know more continue on talepost.