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www.alzheimers2013.com
Michael also believes that dementia is a
critical challenge for our ageing society and
dedicates a lot of time to communicating
healthy brain ideas to the public. In 2011, he
released a popular-science book in this area,
`Maintain Your Brain` (ABC Books), and was
part of the Alzheimer's Australia team that
developed BrainyApp, the world's first iPhone
app designed to help users maximise their long
term brain health.
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LeIsURe
bRaiN HEaltH
Cognitive lifestyle refers to our lifelong patterns
of complex mental activity and is a challenging
concept to measure. Our group has developed
and validated the Lifetime of Experience
Questionnaire (LEQ) as a way of quantifying
individual differences in cognitive lifestyle
amongst older cognitively intact persons. In
collaboration with several population-based
cohorts internationally, we are beginning to
build a picture of what is a `normal' cognitive
lifestyle amongst older Australians, British,
French and Americans. In addition, we have
shown that a more active cognitive lifestyle
is not only associated with a reduced risk for
long term incident dementia, but also with
increased chances of cognitive recovery from
mild cognitive impairment to normal cognition.
Further evidence supports the idea that
cognitive lifestyle leads to a compression of
cognitive morbidity, with important potential
socioeconomic implications. Our group is also
pioneering studies of the mechanistic basis of
these findings, combining in vivo neuroimaging
and post mortem histological analyses. From
a preventative perspective, we hope to learn
how to better exploit the brain's neuroplastic
processes by developing effective cognitive
lifestyle interventions ­ results from two
recently completed randomized control trials
of cognitive brain training in the elderly will be
presented.
mattHEW EvaNs
Matthew Evans is a former
chef and food critic turned
Tasmanian smallholder. He
fattens pigs, milks a cow,
tends a garden and writes
about food from his office
overlooking the silver birches atop his cottage
on Puggle Farm, in the gorgeous Huon Valley.
Matthew is the author of eight books on
food, including the authoritative Real Food
Companion and his autobiography Never Order
Chicken on a Monday. He writes regularly for
Feast and other magazines, and a regular blog
for SBS online. He is the presenter of the SBS
series, Gourmet Farmer.
Matthew's latest project is A Common Ground,
a venture with Nick Haddow, specialising in
regional produce events. Nick and Matthew
also own a shop of the same name that
showcases artisan produce from around our
island state.
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REal FOOd
Real Food; food where the provenance is
known and the producer valued. Matthew
believes in home cooking, using the seasons
and your geography as the guide. It is his
hope that more and more people will try to
grow their own food (just start with parsley
and go from there), or know exactly where
their produce is coming from. A simple recipe
really...in order to look after body and brain.