Three Ways to Deal with Unconstructive Repetitive Thoughts

Several researchers have shown that negative mood, anxiety, and distress can be associated with cognitive decline. Wilson and his colleague Patricia Boyle (both at Rush in Chicago) have shown with data from the Religious Orders Study that persons who are chronically distressed have a greater chance of cognitive decline.

At the Cognitive Aging Summit (sponsored by the National Institute on Aging and featuring NIA-supported research), Martin Sliwinski reported data that show that the specific aspect of emotional distress that may be linked to problems in thinking and memory is something called unconstructive repetitive thought (URT).

Although the term reeks of jargon, it is helpful because it helps us understand the difference between various types of worry, ruminating, or obsessing. URT means that someone thinks a lot about something that is upsetting, but it doesn’t go anywhere.

It’s a little like pushing at a sore tooth in your mouth – you know that you shouldn’t, and that if you don’t leave it alone, you may make it worse. But still, it’s hard to stop.

It’s easy to guess that repeatedly thinking about upsetting things (your boss or spouse yelling at you, an especially bad ride home on the freeway that involved someone cutting in front of you) might cause repeated releases of stress-related neurohormones and immune factors.

Since we know that many of these substances have the capacity to be neurotoxic, it’s a simple (though unproven) link from URT to cognitive impairment.

How do you deal with URT?

• First, pay attention to thoughts that bother you and are upsetting. You may be engaging in URT without realizing it. Ask yourself, Is thinking about this making my heart race or making me feel jumpy and angry? Notice what you’re thinking about.
• Second, decide whether thinking is going to resolve anything. Sometimes, thinking about something over and over can help you figure out a solution to a problem. But worrying over and over about something in the past or future that you can’t control just makes you miserable. No matter how much you think about something, you can’t change the past or control the future.
• Third, make a commitment to deal with thoughts if you can’t deal with the problem. If you’re want to spend time going over something in your mind over and over, schedule a time (maybe 15 minutes) and do so. Don’t do the thinking any other time. Usually, people who learn to relax through meditation or breathing can learn to stop their URT. Regular mediation practice can also help you stop.

Beagles and Your Brain

Just last week I had the opportunity to attend the second Cognitive Aging Summit sponsored by the National Institute on Aging. It was an outstanding opportunity to find out what researchers in the field of cognition and aging are doing.

One of the most interesting presentations was by Dr. Carl Cotman at the University of California—Irvine. He reported on research showing that a combination of antioxidant diet and an enriched environment can actually prevent memory impairments in aging beagles.

Why study beagles? Because as they get older, they show age-related memory problems similar to those in humans.The changes in their memory are mirrored by increases in amyloid in their brains, a substance that is associated with cognitive decline in humans. So beagles are a useful animal for the study of age-related memory decline. Cotman compared the effects of the antioxidant diet plus an environment full of interesting toys, exercise, and interactions with humans and other dogs to a standard diet and sedentary life style – the doggy equivalent of being a couch potato.

Cotman’s and his group’s research showed that an antioxidant diet that included antioxidant supplements combined with an enriched environment helped prevent memory problems as the dogs aged. And when the researchers looked at the dogs’ brains, they had less evidence of amyloid. They also showed greater levels of brain-derived neurotrophic growth factor (BDNF), a critical substance for the growth of new nerve cells.

Cotman argues that the antioxidants made cells better able to respond to environmental stimulation and preserve their function.

Reference:

Pop V et al. (2010). Synergistic effects of long-term antioxidant diet and behavioral enrichment on beta-amyloid load and non-amyloidogenic processing in aged canines. Journal of Neuroscience, 30, 9831-9839.