Eating fish and avoiding violent video games could be prescriptions for a healthier brain

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDNov 30 2011

Two new studies presented Wednesday at the Radiological Society of North America’s annual conference in Chicago find that eating plenty of fish and not playing violent video games can keep a person’s brain healthy.

One study shows that a diet that includes at least one serving of baked or broiled fish a week significantly reduces the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease later in life. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh compared the diets of 260 healthy men and women with brain scans. The 163 patients who ate fish every week were at almost five times less risk of contracting Alzheimer’s or dementia ten years later, Dr. Cyrus Raji said.

Dementia “is a disorder that really robs people of a fundamental aspect of who they are, by taking away their memories,” Raji said. As many as 5.1 million Americans may have Alzheimer’s, which is incurable. Previous studies have shown that regular mental and physical exercise can also lower the risk of dementia.

“This is the first study to establish a direct relationship between fish consumption, brain structure and Alzheimer’s risk.” Eating fried fish won’t help because it is low in the Omega-3 oils that help prevent brain deterioration, he said.

Dr Simon Ridley, head of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said, “This study suggests that eating fish on a weekly basis may reduce the risk of cognitive decline, but it is not clear whether other underlying factors may have contributed to the lower risk in people who eat fish. As a number of controlled studies using fatty acids from oily fish have failed to show benefits for dementia, there is a clear need for more conclusive research into the effects of dietary fish on our cognitive health.”

Dr Anne Corbett, research manager of the Alzheimer's Society, added, “This moderately sized study adds weight to existing evidence suggesting that eating fish reduces your risk of developing cognitive decline. However, this research did not account for lifestyle factors such as other foods or exercise which could also have had an effect. The best way to lessen your chance of developing dementia is to eat a healthy diet including fruit and vegetables along with taking regular exercise and giving up smoking.”

The second study showed that young men who play violent video games damage parts of their brains that help them control their emotions, learn, organize, plan and solve problems.

This comes from researchers at the Indiana University who found that young men aged 18-29 who played a violent video game for 10 hours over the course of a week had reduced activity in parts of their brain that allow them to control their emotions and aggressive behavior.

Report author Dr. Yang Wang declined to name the game used in the study, but said it was a popular war scenario “first-person shooter” game in which the player adopts the role of a gunman. Previous studies suggest non-violent games don’t present the same risk, study co-author Dr. Vincent Mathews said.

While players might think it’s only a game, the brain doesn’t distinguish between reality and a simulation in the same way, Mathews said. “This is a free country where people can do what they want for the most part,” he added, but gamers “should be aware of the affects these games are having on their brains.”