The latest (October 2002) issue of the Nutrition Action Healthletter, published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest has an article by David Schardt, “Brain Boosters and Busters”. This issue isn’t on line yet, so I can’t link to it.

There are a couple of relevant (to square dancing) quotes in the article:

• “Keeping aerobically fit can have a significant effect on our cognitive function as we age, and it’s pretty easy to do.”

• “To maintain cognitive function at a high level, you need continuing mental stimulation,” says K. Warner Schaie of the Seattle Longitudinal Study.

  “We find that people who do jigsaw puzzles are better at spatial orientation than people who don’t do them,” he adds. Ditto for square-dancers, probably because they have to orient themselves in space and follow a sequence of steps.