Volunteer service, such as tutoring children, can help older adults delay or reverse declining brain function, says a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in Baltimore, Md.

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the researchers found that seniors participating in a youth mentoring program made gains in key brain regions that support cognitive abilities important to planning and organizing one's daily life.

The study is the first of its kind to demonstrate that valuable social service programs, such as Experience Corps—a program designed to benefit both children and older adults' health—can have the added benefits of improving the cognitive abilities of older adults, enhancing their quality of life. The study was published in the December issue of the Journals of Gerontology: Medical Sciences.

About 78 million Americans were born between 1946 and 1964. Individuals of retirement age are the fastest-growing sector of the U.S. population, so there is great interest in preserving their cognitive and physical abilities, especially given the societal cost of the alternative.

"We found that participating in Experience Corps resulted in improvements in cognitive functioning and this was associated with significant changes in brain activation patterns," says lead investigator Michelle C. Carlson, associate professor in the Bloomberg School's Department of Mental Health and Center on Aging and Health. "Essentially the intervention improved brain and cognitive function in these older adults."

Researchers claim the study is the first of its kind to examine the effect of Experience Corps, a national volunteer service program that trains seniors to help children in urban public schools with reading and academic success in other areas.

The study followed 17 women aged 65 and older. Half participated in Experience Corps programs in Baltimore schools, while the other half were wait-listed to enroll in Experience Corps the following year.

Participants were evaluated at enrollment and again six months later, which included fMRI brain scans and cognitive function testing.

"While the results of this study are preliminary, they hold promise for enhancing and maintaining brain reserve in later life, particularly among sedentary individuals who may benefit most urgently from behavioral interventions like Experience Corps," says Carlson, who now is leading a larger fMRI trial as part of a large-scale randomized trial of the Baltimore Experience Corps Program.

"As life expectancies increase, it's important, from a public health standpoint, to delay the onset of diseases associated with aging," says senior author Dr. Linda P. Fried, dean of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, in New York, N.Y.

"This study suggests that new kinds of roles for older adults in our aging society can be designed as a win-win—for addressing important societal needs, such as our children's success, and simultaneously the health and well-being of the older volunteers themselves," Fried says.

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health claims to be a leading international authority on public health. It says it "works to keep millions safe from illness and injury by pioneering new research, deploying its knowledge and expertise in the field, and educating tomorrow's scientists and practitioners in the global defense of human life."

The Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health is the only accredited school of public health in New York City and among the first in the nation.

It says it "pursues an agenda of research, education, and service to address the critical and complex public health issues affecting millions of people locally and globally." It says it has more than 1,000 graduate students pursuing master's and doctoral degrees, and that its 300 multidisciplinary faculty members work in more than 100 countries around the world, addressing such issues as infectious and chronic diseases, health promotion and disease prevention, environmental health, and maternal and child health.