Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have discovered that the area in the human brain where daydreaming activity takes place is the same area of the brain where Alzheimer's disease begins to develop. The scientists conducting the study now believe there may be a possible connection between daydreaming and Alzheimer's.
The results of the study were published in this week's edition of the 'Journal of Neuroscience.'
'The implication, albeit a speculative one, is that those activity patterns in young adults are the foothold onto which Alzheimer's disease forms,' said Randy Buckner, the lead researcher of the study.
Buckner remained cautious about jumping to conclusions at this early point in the process.
'It suggests a new hypothesis and opens an avenue in exploration,' Buckner said. 'By no means is it definitive.'
The study examined brain scans of 764 people who were broken up into three groups. The first group consisted of people in their 20s, the second group were older people suffering the early effects of dementia and the third group were patients who had already developed full blown Alzheimer's.
The researchers were surprised to discover that the parts of the brain involved in musing, daydreaming or recalling pleasant memories in young people were where evidence of Alzheimer's disease appears.
William Klunk, the co-author of the study, explained that this particular region of the brain is never fully shut down.
'It's like an engine on idle,' Klunk said. 'It never shuts down. That activity might fuel the sequence of events that could lead to Alzheimer's.'
'It means it's very important to identify changes in the brain at early stages of illness, so that as newer interventions come along, we can start them at a time when it makes a difference,' he added.
New brain imaging techniques developed by Klunk can identify plaque and tangles in the brain that are the hallmark of Alzheimer's.
Scientists expect to conduct a lot more research into the possible connection between daydreaming and Alzheimer's.
