IRVINE, Calif. — Dogs need all the exercise and play they can get — not just for their bodies, but for their brains! A new study finds that exercising, socializing, learning, and playing are all crucial in preventing canine dementia.
Like humans, a dog’s brain deteriorates as they get older, leading to cognitive decline. This new study finds that social and cognitive enrichment can protect dogs from neuron (brain cell) death and brain structure loss, which cause memory and cognitive issues.
In the study, scientists tracked changes in brain structure over three years in middle-aged beagles taking part in social enrichment activities. This regimen included exercise, social interaction, toy play, and free play with peers of the same sex.
Throughout the study, the research team evaluated various cognitive skills of the beagles. The team also examined brain regions related to cognition and discovered that the hippocampus — a region particularly vulnerable to age-related neuron death and structural loss — increased in volume for all beagles.
The study also compared two groups of dogs receiving social enrichment with either an FDA-approved drug or a potential preclinical drug for Alzheimer’s disease. These groups showed no significant differences from those receiving only social enrichment, underscoring the effectiveness of physical activity in slowing neuron death in brain areas critical for memory.
The researchers suggest that their findings, published in JNeurosci, have significant implications for humans with Alzheimer’s disease, highlighting the potential benefits of social enrichment. Simply put, staying active and exercising your brain may be the best medicine for preventing Alzheimer’s.
“Because age-related brain changes and cognitive decline are similar between dogs and people, dogs are a useful model to study treatments for diseases that quicken neuron death and cognitive decline, like Alzheimer’s,” says Professor Christopher Norris from the University of Kentucky, according to a statement from SWNS.
“Anyone who has ever had a pet dog knows how hard it is to watch them grow old and experience issues with memory, task performance, and thinking. It is unfortunate that aging is marked by worsened cognitive skills,” adds Professor Elizabeth Head from the University of California-Irvine.
“Ultimately, these findings suggest that, even for middle-aged dogs, social enrichment may be beneficial for neural health. We can therefore conclude that adopting a dog and offering it a loving home even when it is middle-aged may improve its longevity and benefit its health in old age. It doesn’t hurt to take this as a helpful pet-care tip with growing scientific support: playing with your dogs may be beneficial to their brain health…and maybe yours as well.”
SWNS writer Isobel Williams contributed to this report.