Khaberni - A recent study reveals that living in cities that are easily walkable may help protect the brain and reduce the risk of dementia in older adults.
The results suggest that simple daily activities, such as crossing busy roads and navigating through interconnected streets, can contribute to stimulating memory and spatial abilities.
The study included more than 500 residents of Sydney, Australia, aged between 70 and 90 years, and they were followed for six years. During this period, the scientists mapped the participants' brains to determine the relationship between the urban environment and brain health.
The results showed that older adults who live in interconnected neighborhoods that are easily walkable have a larger part of a region in the brain known as the "hippocampal tail," which is associated with spatial memory and the ability to orient and navigate.
The hippocampus is located within the temporal lobe of the brain and plays a key role in learning and memory formation processes. Damage to this region or its rapid shrinkage is linked to Alzheimer's disease, which is the most common form of dementia.
Professor Giovina Bodell, the lead author of the study and a neuroscientist at the Australian Catholic University, said that urban environments that require residents to use navigation and spatial planning skills help activate important areas in the brain.
She explained that older adults living in walkable cities are forced to make simple spatial decisions daily, such as choosing the right path or crossing multiple intersections, which are ordinary tasks but require a complex series of mental processes, like the "stop, look, listen, think" rule that most people learn from childhood.
Although participants who possessed a larger "hippocampal tail" showed better indicators for brain health, follow-up examinations also showed that this area might experience faster decline over time, which requires more research to understand the relationship more precisely.
The scientists believe that the results of the study could support urban planning trends that focus on creating cities and neighborhoods suitable for walking, not only to promote physical activity but also to support brain health in older adults.
Professor Esther Serene, who co-authored the study, said that interconnected and complex neighborhoods not only encourage daily movement but may also help preserve cognitive abilities in later stages of life.
This study supported earlier research findings that suggested that taxi drivers who worked before the spread of "Google Maps" were less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease, due to their continuous reliance on spatial memory for navigation.
