"Older adults who take college courses may increase their cognitive capacity and possibly reduce their risk for developing Alzheimers disease or other forms of dementia according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.  An Australian study called the Tasmanian Healthy Brain Project recruited  participants ages  to  who took a series of cognitive tests before completing at least a year of fulltime or parttime study at the University of Tasmania. Participants were reassessed annually for three years following their studies. More than  percent of the participants displayed a significant increase in cognitive capacity compared with  percent in a control group of  participants who didnt take any college courses.  The study findings are exciting because they demonstrate that its never too late to take action to maximize the cognitive capacity of your brain said lead researcher Megan Lenehan PhD. We plan to follow these participants as they age to see if college studies could help delay the onset or reduce the debilitating effects of dementia.  Previous studies have examined how exercise brain games and an active social life may boost cognitive capacity and possibly stem cognitive decline associated with aging. This study is the first to examine similar positive effects from college courses taken by older adults said Lenehan of the University of Tasmania.  The study participants who were screened to exclude people who had dementia completed a baseline series of tests to measure cognitive capacity or an individuals ability to use brain networks efficiently in areas such as memory information processing decision making and planning. The participants in the college studies group took a wide range of courses including history psychology philosophy and fine art. Most of the students took courses on campus but some completed online classes. The researchers suspect that campus study may provide greater benefits in boosting cognitive capacity because of social interaction with professors and fellow students but the study didnt analyze any differences between oncampus or online courses.  The participants completed the same cognitive tests each year during the fouryear study with  percent of the collegestudies group displaying a significant increase in cognitive capacity while the remaining  percent generally maintained their cognitive capacity. For the control group  percent displayed a significant increase in cognitive capacity while  percent had no change. The participants age gender feelings of wellbeing or level of social connectedness didnt affect the findings. The research was published online in the journal Neuropsychology.  Prior research has shown that college study earlier in life may increase cognitive capacity and it appears the same may be true for older adults Lenehan said.  It is possible that any mentally stimulating activity later in life may also enhance cognitive capacity such as other adulteducation classes or programs to increase social interaction she said.  The control group was significantly older than the college studies group but there were no significant differences in baseline cognitive capacity scores the study noted. The researchers also didnt find any correlation between age and cognitive capacity scores at any point during the study. Some participants in the control group may have been doing crossword puzzles or other mentally stimulating activities that boosted their cognitive capacity Lenehan said. The participants who took college classes volunteered for the study so they probably had a greater interest in continuing education that the general senior population the journal article noted. The study was too short to reveal any longterm effects so the researchers plan to follow the participants as they age to provide additional evidence of whether college studies may reduce the risk or delay the onset of dementia.   Article Sending Your Grandparents to University Increases Cognitive Reserve The Tasmanian Healthy Brain Project Megan E. Lenehan PhD University of TasmaniaLaunceston Mathew James Summers PhD University of the Sunshine Coast Nichole L. Saunders PhD Jeffery J. Summers PhD David D. Ward PhD and James C. Vickers PhD University of TasmaniaHobart and Karen Ritchie PhD Neuropsychology published online Nov.  .  Full text of the article is available from the APA Public Affairs Office and at  http Contact Megan Lenehan at Megan.Lenehanutas.edu.au mailtoMegan.Lenehanutas.edu.au.  The American Psychological Association in Washington D.C. is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APAs membership includes more than  researchers educators clinicians consultants and students. Through its divisions in  subfields of psychology and affiliations with  state territorial and Canadian provincial associations APA works to advance the creation communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve peoples lives."