Gary Small, MD, Director, UCLA Center on Aging, UCLA, discusses brain health and the impact that lifestyle factors have over genetics on brain health, and in particular, diet, exercise and mental engagement.

Reading:

Pinilla FG.
The impact of diet and exercise on brain plasticity and disease.
Nutr Health. 2006;18(3):277-84. Review.

Molteni R, Wu A, Vaynman S, Ying Z, Barnard RJ, Gómez-Pinilla F.
Exercise reverses the harmful effects of consumption of a high-fat diet on synaptic and behavioral plasticity associated to the action of brain-derived neurotrophic factor.
Neuroscience. 2004;123(2):429-40.

Bazargan M, Barbre AR.
The effects of depression, health status, and stressful life-events on self-reported memory problems among aged blacks.
Int J Aging Hum Dev. 1994;38(4):351-62.