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+--- Thread: To protect your brain, don’t be (too) kind! (/thread-8290.html)
To protect your brain, don’t be (too) kind! - C C - Mar 22, 2020
https://www.unige.ch/communication/communiques/en/2020/pour-proteger-votre-cerveau-ne-soyez-pas-trop-aimables/
EXCERPT: . . . These results, to be discovered in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, highlight the importance of taking personality into account in neuropsychiatric disorders and pave the way for more precise prevention strategies against neurodegeneration.
[...] The results are surprising: people who are unpleasant, who are not afraid of conflicts and who show a certain anti-conformity have better protected brains. In addition, this protection takes place precisely in the memory circuits that are damaged by Alzheimer's disease. "A high level of agreeableness characterizes highly adaptive personalities, who want above all to be in line with the wishes of others, to avoid conflict, and to seek cooperation," notes the specialist. "This differs from extraversion. You can be very extroverted and not very pleasant, as are narcissistic personalities, for example. The important determinant is the relationship to the other: do we adapt to others at our own expenses?"
Another personality trait seems to have a protective effect, but in a less clear-cut way: openness to experience. "This is less surprising, as we already knew that the desire to learn and interest in the world around us protects against cerebral ageing." But why? What are the biological mechanisms at work? For the moment, this remains a mystery, which the Geneva team would like to decipher, as does the stability of their observations.
Indeed, does the phenomenon last for decades? And how can these results be used for prevention purposes? "If it seems difficult to profoundly change one's personality, especially at an advanced age, taking this into account in a personalized medicine perspective is essential in order to weigh up all the protective and risk factors of Alzheimer's disease. It is an important part of a complex puzzle," the authors conclude. (MORE - details)