Brain Breakthroughs MASTERCLASS — Private Workbook 3 / 14
4 Top Brain Myths
Fill in the blanks to complete the sentences on the 4 Top Brain Myths.
Myth #1:
Your risk of getting Alzheimer’s — or other
dementias — is mostly driven by your
_____________ or your luck.
1. Alzheimer’s and other dementias are _____________ diseases, like every other disease
is a _____________ disease. But the ___________ in diseases manifest differently.
2. Only ______% of Alzheimer's cases are driven by the kind of genes with a nearly 100%
penetrance (that if a person has the gene, they are guaranteed to get the disease).
3. So, only about ______% of Alzheimer’s cases are completely unavoidable.
4. The other ______% or more are still ________________, but they're
__________________, and the genes just confer risk.
Myth #2:
Old age means unavoidable ______________
decline.
1. There are certain cognitive abilities that may slow or decline, but often, it’s other
___________________ or __________________ factors that are the driving forces. It’s
not simply getting old in and of itself.
2. There are three key elements to optimize brain capacity and cognitive ability
well into old age: ____________________, ____________________, and
____________________.
3. Complexity means real life activities that encompass _____________ parts of your brain.
So, activities like learning to play a musical instrument or a new _______________, or
learning to dance, sing, or leading a new project, volunteering where you haven’t before,
or playing cards or chess with _______________.
4. It’s not enough for you to do something complex that’s repetitive. After a while it
becomes ________________, normal, and like background noise. You have to
________________ yourself to go to the next level, whatever that may mean. If you’re
somewhat familiar with a second _________________, then increase your skills to
mastery. If you already have excellence in two __________________, start learning a
third.