A new three-year study by researchers at the Center for Brain Health (CBH) at the University of Texas at Dallas suggests that getting older doesn’t automatically mean you lose mental sharpness. Rather, the findings show that brain health and cognitive abilities can continue to improve throughout the lifespan.
This research scientific reportNature draws on data from the BrainHealth Project (BHP), an initiative launched by CBH in 2020 to better understand how people can strengthen and optimize brain health across the lifespan.
Researchers followed 3,966 adults between the ages of 19 and 94. This group represents approximately one-fifth of all Brain Health Project participants. Over a three-year period, participants completed short training activities lasting just 5 to 15 minutes per day.
BrainHealth Index tracks changes over time
To assess changes in brain health and performance, the team used the BrainHealth Index (BHI), a patent-pending assessment developed by CBH researchers and first introduced in a pilot study in 2021.
The BHI is designed to detect both improvements and declines in brain health. It measures three key areas: clarity, emotional balance, and connection to people and purpose.
“The Brain Health Index brings together approximately 20 measures, including validated representative measures such as the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Oxford Well-being Questionnaire, as well as tasks designed at the Brain Health Center to focus on more complex thinking skills,” said Lori Cook MS’02, PhD’09, director of clinical research at CBH and corresponding author on the paper. scientific report study. “This series of assessments provides insight into an individual’s brain health and its changes over time. Progress will be measured by comparing results to participants’ own previous scores.”
Professor Cook, who is also adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, said the findings challenge common assumptions about aging and cognition.
“Every brain, like a fingerprint, is unique and has the potential for growth,” Cook said. “This study challenges the common belief that cognitive decline is inevitable and suggests that brain health can be actively cultivated at any age.”
Brain improvements seen at all ages
Positive changes were also observed among participants in their 80s, the researchers said, showing that efforts to improve brain health can be beneficial long before symptoms or disease appear, and the effects can last long afterward.
“For too long, we have operated under the outdated idea that we need to wait until something bad happens to the brain before doing anything,” said Sandra Bond Chapman, Ph.D. ’86, senior author of the study, chief director of CBH, and Dee Wiley Distinguished University Chair in Brain Health. “This study reminds us that our brains are not defined by age, but by potential.”
One of the study’s most notable findings concerned the participants who started with the lowest BrainHealth Index scores. This group experienced the greatest improvement over time.
“Companies that start at the lowest level appear to have the greatest opportunity for growth and may come in with more pre-existing concerns,” Cook said. “As such, they may be more willing to invest the time necessary to identify further growth potential. However, it is notable that even companies that entered as high performers have seen measurable growth.”
Engagement is more important than demographics
Researchers found that engagement was the strongest predictor of improvement. Factors such as age, gender, and education level did not determine whether participants experienced positive changes.
However, Cook noted that the study population was not completely representative of the broader population. Most participants were college-educated, Caucasian women.
“We have room to grow when it comes to representation of different demographic groups,” she says. “We’re working hard to increase representation, so we can be even more confident about how this generalizes to the population as a whole, especially communities that are commonly underrepresented in research.”
Cook, who has worked with Chapman for more than 25 years since starting as a research assistant, said she appreciates CBH’s combination of clinical research, translational care and community outreach. She also emphasized the importance of making scientific discoveries accessible and meaningful to the public.
“One of the things that is very near and dear to my heart is helping people make the connection between neuroplasticity and self-agency,” she said. “Brain health is not something we simply strive to maintain; it can be actively shaped over time. Research like ours provides an objective measure of brain health that people can track over time, which can further raise public awareness.”
Ongoing brain imaging research
The BrainHealth project continues to collect long-term data through additional studies and follow-up surveys. As part of that effort, approximately 400 participants from the Dallas area underwent more than 1,200 brain scans at Sammons Brain Health Imaging Center.
“This unique imaging dataset provides an opportunity to examine neural indicators associated with BHI and gives us the ability to use regular brain imaging to investigate potential brain mechanisms associated with changes in brain health over time,” Cook said.
Other authors currently affiliated with CBH include Dr. Jane Wigginton, director of medical science research, who also serves as co-director of the Center for Clinical and Translational Research and chief medical officer of the Texas Biomedical Devices Center; Dr. Jeffrey Spence, Director of Biostatistics; Aaron Tate MA’18, Director of Emerging Technologies. Erin Venza MS’13, PhD’25, Director of Clinical Operations. Zhengsi Chang PhD’22, Research Scientist.
The study also includes contributors from the Trinity College Neuroscience Institute in Dublin, the University of California, Berkeley, and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
The BrainHealth project is supported in part through private philanthropy, including funding from Sammons Enterprises.
