What Really Prevents Cognitive Decline
4/14/202658 min
What actually causes cognitive decline, and how much of it can we do something about?
In this episode, Michael talks with neurologist and neuroscientist Dr. Majid Fotuhi about dementia, Alzheimer's, memory loss, and the everyday habits that shape brain health over time. They discuss why Alzheimer's is only part of the story, why some people remain mentally sharp into old age, and what the evidence says about exercise, sleep, diet, stress, and cognitive activity.
They also cover ADHD, attention, brain training, and the difference between ordinary forgetfulness and something more serious.
At the center of it all is a simple but important idea: many people think cognitive decline is just an unavoidable part of aging, when in fact there is often more room to protect brain function than most of us realize.
Majid Fotuhi, MD, PhD, is an adjunct professor of Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins's Mind/Brain Institute, an adjunct professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at George Washington University, and is the medical director of NeuroGrow Brain Fitness Center. His groundbreaking, proprietary research has been published in The Lancet, Nature, Neurology, Neuron, Proceedings of National Academy of Science, the Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease, Journal of Rehabilitation, and Journal of Alzheimer's Disease Reports, among others. His new book is The Invincible Brain: The Clinically Proven Plan to Age-Proof Your Brain and Stay Sharp for Life.
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First 90 secondsSpeaker 00:00
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Michael Shermer· Host1:00
What is dementia, Alzheimer's, all this stuff, and why have people been misinterpreting this?
Majid Fotuhi· Guest1:03
Dementia is an umbrella term that covers all causes of cognitive decline to the point of being dependent on others. A person can have memory problems, and they could even have significant memor-memory problems, but as long as they're functioning, they don't have dementia. But once they can't drive, and they can't pay the bills, and they need others to help, they reach the level of dementia. Seventy percent environment and thirty percent genes. In other words, environment has a stronger impact