The aging brain may be far more capable of growth and improvement than scientists once believed.
A large three-year study from researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas’ Center for BrainHealth (CBH) is challenging a long-standing assumption about aging. The findings suggest that mental sharpness is not destined to decline over time and that people can strengthen cognitive abilities throughout life.
The research, published in the journal Scientific Reports, drew on data from The BrainHealth Project (BHP), an initiative launched by CBH in 2020 to better understand how brain health can be enhanced and maintained across the lifespan.
Researchers tracked 3,966 adults ranging in age from 19 to 94, representing roughly one-fifth of all BrainHealth Project participants. Over the course of three years, participants spent between five and 15 minutes a day completing brief brain training exercises.
Measuring Changes in Brain Health
To evaluate changes in participants’ brain health and performance, researchers used the BrainHealth Index (BHI), a patent-pending assessment tool developed by CBH scientists and first introduced in a 2021 pilot study.
The BrainHealth Index is designed to detect both improvements and declines in brain health. It focuses on three major areas: clarity, emotional balance, and connectedness to people and purpose.
“The BrainHealth Index brings together about 20 metrics, including validated gold-standard measures like the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, as well as tasks designed at the Center for BrainHealth to focus on more complex thinking skills,” said Lori Cook MS’02, PhD’09, CBH director of clinical research and corresponding author of the Scientific Reports study. “This battery of assessments produces insights into individual brain health and change over time. Progress is measured by comparing results with participants’ own earlier scores.”
Cook, who is also an adjunct assistant professor in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, said the results point to a more optimistic view of aging.
“Every brain is as unique as a fingerprint and has potential for growth,” she said. “This study challenges the prevailing narrative of inevitable cognitive decline, suggesting instead that brain health can be proactively cultivated at any age.”
Brain Gains Seen Across the Lifespan
According to the researchers, positive changes can begin long before symptoms or disease appear. Benefits were observed even among participants in their 80s.
“For too long, we’ve operated under the outdated notion that we need to wait until something bad happens to our brains before we do anything for them,” said Sandra Bond Chapman PhD’86, senior author of the study, CBH chief director and Dee Wyly Distinguished University Chair for BrainHealth. “This study reminds us that our brain is not defined by age — it is defined by possibility.”
One of the study’s most notable findings involved participants who started with the lowest BrainHealth Index scores. This group experienced the greatest improvements over time.
“Those who are starting at the lowest level appear to have the most opportunity for growth and may be coming in with more preexisting concerns,” Cook said. “As such, they may be more motivated to invest the time needed to see more growth potential. But it is noteworthy that we saw measurable growth even in those entering as high performers.”
Engagement Matters More Than Demographics
Researchers found that the strongest predictor of improvement was participant engagement. Factors such as age, gender, and education level were not significant drivers of positive change.
Cook noted, however, that the participant pool had limitations. Most participants were white, female, and college educated.
“We have room to grow when it comes to representation for different demographic groups,” she said. “We’re working hard to increase representation, so we can be even more confident in how this generalizes to the population at large, especially communities typically underrepresented in research.”
Cook, who has worked alongside Chapman for more than 25 years after beginning as a research assistant, said she values CBH’s ability to connect clinical research, translational care, and community outreach. She believes sharing research findings effectively is essential for creating meaningful public impact.
“One piece that is so near and dear to my heart is helping people link neuroplasticity with self-agency,” she said. “Brain health isn’t just something we strive to maintain; we can actively shape it over time. Research like ours, which provides an objective measure of brain health that people can track over time, can only further boost public awareness.”
Ongoing Brain Imaging Research
Research through The BrainHealth Project continues, along with several related substudies. Approximately 400 Dallas-area participants have collectively undergone more than 1,200 brain scans at the Sammons BrainHealth Imaging Center.
“This unique imaging dataset provides an opportunity to look at neural metrics associated with the BHI and gives us the capacity to use periodic brain imaging to explore potential brain mechanisms associated with changes in brain health over time,” Cook said.
Reference: “Measuring and increasing the brain health span across adulthood: a public health imperative” by Lori G. Cook, Jeffrey S. Spence, Zhengsi Chang, Erin E. Venza, Aaron Tate, Ian H. Robertson, Mark D’Esposito, Geoffrey S. F. Ling, Jane G. Wigginton and Sandra Bond Chapman, 2 May 2026, Scientific Reports.
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-51403-3
Additional authors of the study currently affiliated with CBH include medical science research director Dr. Jane Wigginton, who also serves as co-director of the Clinical and Translational Research Center and chief medical officer of the Texas Biomedical Device Center; Dr. Jeffrey Spence, director of biostatistics; Aaron Tate MA’18, director of emerging technology; Erin Venza MS’13, PhD’25, head of clinical operations; and Zhengsi Chang PhD’22, research scientist. Other contributors came from the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience in Dublin, the University of California, Berkeley, and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
The BrainHealth Project receives partial support from private philanthropy, including Sammons Enterprises Inc.
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