How being an expert birdwatcher may boost cognition

Being an expert birder is more than a hobby. It’s a hobby that can alter the structure and function of your brain. And these changes may improve cognition even as we age, new research suggests.

In a Canadian study of 58 adults, the brains of expert birders, compared to those of novices, were denser in areas related to attention and perception. Such tissue density may indicate increased communication between neurons, and these structural differences were associated with more accurate bird identification.

The results were published Monday in JNeurosci, the Journal of Neuroscience.

“Our brains are very malleable,” said lead author Erik Wing, who during the study was a postdoctoral researcher at the Rotman Research Institute, part of the Baycrest Academy for Research and Education in Toronto.

When you learn a new skill, your brain reorganizes itself through a process called neuroplasticity. Previous research has studied this phenomenon in people who have developed specialized skills, including athletes and musicians.

Wing said his team chose to study birders because their observation and identification of birds in their natural habitats involves a unique fusion of cognitive domains.

“[Birding] combines fine identification, visual search and attention to the immediate environment and sensitivity to movement, pattern detection, building these elaborate conceptual networks of different related species,” said Wing, now a research associate at York University in Toronto. “Also, you have to remember what you see and compare it to these internal patterns,” or the images stored in our brains.

MRI scans show brain differences

The expert panel consisted of 29 people aged 24 to 75, recruited from organizations such as the Toronto Ornithological Club and the Ontario Field Ornithologists. The 29 people in the novice group, ages 22 to 79, were recruited from the same birding groups, as well as outdoor clubs focused on activities such as hiking and gardening.

Expertise was determined by screening tests rather than years of experience, even though some participants had been observing birds for nearly half a century, Wing said.

During a bird-matching exercise, experts were more accurate than novices in identifying bird species native and foreign to the Toronto area.

What surprised the researchers, Wing said, was the experts’ neurological activity when it came to bird identification.

The study used two types of MRI scans to examine participants’ brains: diffusion and functional.

Diffusion MRI, which measured brain structure, found that the experts’ brains were denser in areas associated with processes such as working memory, spatial awareness and object recognition.

Functional MRI, meanwhile, allowed researchers to see which parts of the brain were active during the birds’ matching exercise. Among the experts, the same areas with structural differences were engaged during the task, particularly when asked to identify foreign birds.

“This gives us an idea of ​​how these regions might be important for developing expertise in the first place,” Wing said. “Then we can see [birders] actually deploy these types of skills to help them identify new, unknown bird species.

Older birders also benefit from cognitive benefits

Bird watchers showed structural differences in the brain compared to novices, regardless of age.

The study does not prove that bird watching prevents cognitive decline. Still, the findings suggest that bird watching might promote brain health in older adults, said Molly Mather, a clinical psychologist at the Mesulam Institute for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease, part of Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.

“We have an aging population, not just in the United States but around the world, and we do not yet have treatments that can stop or reverse the changes associated with aging or Alzheimer’s disease,” said Mather, who was not involved in the research. “It’s very helpful to create a real scientific basis for what we can recommend and why.”

The cross-sectional study presents a chicken versus egg conundrum, Mather said. In other words, the experts’ brain differences may not be a direct result of bird watching. It is possible that people who already possess these neurological characteristics are more experienced birders.

Additionally, because study participants were recruited from naturalist organizations and outdoor groups, they may already be leading healthier, more active lives.

Benefits of being in nature

Benjamin Katz, associate professor in the department of human development and family sciences at Virginia Tech, said other facets of birding that have been shown to promote brain health could also play a role. For example, bird watching involves being in nature, which is linked to improved attention span; walking, which is linked to a reduced risk of cognitive impairment; and, in some cases, socialization, which is linked to increased processing speed.

“Bird watching is not just one thing,” said Katz, who was not part of the study. “There are so many different cognitive aspects.”

Katz suggested that future research follow birders over time to see if their brains change as they gain expertise.

“We don’t know what the basic differences are,” he said. “It would take longitudinal data to draw strong conclusions about what birding does.”

The study authors wrote that their approach could be used to look for possible brain reorganization in other complex skills.

“Our interests and experiences – especially those to which we devote hours, hundreds of hours or decades – leave an imprint on the structure of the brain,” Wing said. “We can understand how people can use these accumulated areas of knowledge that they have acquired to support cognition across the lifespan.”

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com