A recent study reveals that living in walkable cities may help protect the brain and reduce the risk of dementia in older adults.
The results suggest that simple everyday activies, such as crossing busy roads and navigating interconnected streets, may contribute to stimulating memory and spatial abilities.
The study included more than 500 residents of Sydney, Australia, aged between 70 and 90, who were followed for six years. During this period, scientists mapped the participants' brains to determine the relationship between urban environment and brain health.
The results showed that older adults who live in interconnected, easily walkable neighborhoods have a larger portion of a brain region known as the "tail of the hippocampus," an area associated with spatial memory, orientation, and navigation.
The hippocampus, located within the temporal lobe of the brain, plays a crucial role in learning and memory formation. Damage to or rapid shrinkage of this region is associated with Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia.
Professor Jovina Poddell, 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 to activate important areas of the brain.
She explained that older people living in walkable cities have to make simple spatial decisions every day, such as choosing the right route or crossing multiple intersections, tasks that seem ordinary but require a series of complex mental processes, such as the “stop, look, listen, think” rule that most people learn from childhood.
Although participants with a larger hippocampal tail appeared to have better indicators of brain health, follow-up examinations also showed that this area may experience faster decline over time, requiring further research to better understand the relationship.
Scientists believe the study's findings may support urban planning trends that focus on creating walkable cities and neighborhoods, not only to promote physical activity, but also to support brain health in older adults.
Professor Esther Serin, who co-authored the study, said that interconnected and complex ecosystems not only encourage daily movement, but may also contribute to maintaining cognitive abilities in later life.
This study supported the findings of previous research indicating that taxi drivers who worked before the spread of "Google Maps" were less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease, due to their continued reliance on spatial memory for navigation.
The study was published in the journal Nature Cities.
