Being too kind is bad for older people's brain health. Kind and more agreeable elderly people are more likely to develop memory-robbing diseases like Alzheimer's disease.
- Being too kind and more agreeable can affect older people’s memory
- Lower agreeableness is linked to better preservation of limbic areas in the human brain
- Therefore, open-minded and less agreeable older people are less prone to memory-robbing diseases like Alzheimer's disease and dementia
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For several decades, Alzheimer's disease specialists have been trying unsuccessfully to develop therapeutic vaccines that could repair brain damage caused by the accumulation of amyloid - a small protein that, in large numbers, is harmful to the central nervous system - and the resulting destruction of neurons.
Today, a new avenue of study is beginning to be explored: would it be possible to limit the damage by acting on non-biological factors? Are some individuals more protected than others because of their personality or way of life? "Between the destruction of the first neurons and the appearance of the first symptoms, 10 to 12 years elapse", says Professor Panteleimon Giannakopoulos, a psychiatrist at the UNIGE Faculty of Medicine and Head of the Division of Institutional Measures at the HUG, who has directed this work.
"For a long time, the brain is able to compensate by activating alternative networks; when the first clinical signs appear, however, it is unfortunately often too late. The identification of early biomarkers is therefore essential for an effective disease management."
A Follow-up of Several Years
"In order to get as complete a picture as possible, we decided to look at the non-lesional determinants of brain damage, i.e. the environment, lifestyle and psychology," says Professor Giannakopoulos. "So we conducted cognitive and personality assessments."
A Plea for Selfishness?
The results are surprising: people who are unpleasant, who are not afraid of conflicts and who show a certain anti-conformity have better protected brains. In addition, this protection takes place precisely in the memory circuits that are damaged by Alzheimer's disease.
"A high level of agreeableness characterizes highly adaptive personalities, who want above all to be in line with the wishes of others, to avoid conflict, and to seek cooperation", notes the specialist. "This differs from extraversion. You can be very extroverted and not very pleasant, as are narcissistic personalities, for example. The important determinant is the relationship to the other: do we adapt to others at our own expenses?"
Open-mindedness is also Important
Another personality trait seems to have a protective effect, but in a less clear-cut way: openness to experience. "This is less surprising, as we already knew that the desire to learn and interest in the world around us protects against cerebral aging." But why? What are the biological mechanisms at work? For the moment, this remains a mystery, which the Geneva team would like to decipher, as does the stability of their observations. Indeed, does the phenomenon last for decades? And how can these results be used for prevention purposes?
"If it seems difficult to profoundly change one's personality, especially at an advanced age, taking this into account in a personalized medicine perspective is essential in order to weigh up all the protective and risk factors of Alzheimer's disease. It is an important part of a complex puzzle," the authors conclude.
Reference:
- Less agreeable, better preserved? A PET amyloid and MRI study in a community-based cohort - (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2020.02.004)
Source-Eurekalert