By: Eric Nagourney, New York Times
Friday, December 13, 2002


From an October 29, 2002 article in the New York Times Health Section:

People hoping to stay sharp as they age often turn to crossword puzzles, math problems and other demanding intellectual pursuits.

But is all that really necessary?

A new set of studies suggests that it may be just part of the solution. Simply talking to people, the researchers say, appears to keep mental skills sharp.

The studies, by psychologists from the University of Michigan and the University of Denver, argue that ordinary day-to-day contact is at least as useful as more formal intellectual activities in preserving mental acuity.

"When people interact with others, basic processes such as working memory, speed of processing and verbal knowledge come into play," the authors wrote. "But social interaction also entails responding to others with our vision, hearing, touch and even smell. It is hard to conceive of a math problem or a novel affecting us in all these ways."

Still, it is not simply a matter of more social contact's leading to a sharper mind. People in better shape mentally are probably more inclined to be social in the first place, the study said. Which is cause and which is effect is not clear, and each may be a bit of both.

"I think in the end it's going to be dynamic," said the lead author, Dr. Oscar Ybarra of the University of Michigan. The study, not yet published, was supported in part by the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan....