Dogs can also suffer from a disease similar to Alzheimer’s. And just like their owners, physical activity is essential for man’s best friends to slow down cognitive degeneration.
This is demonstrated by a study published in ‘Scientific Reports’ and carried out by an international group of researchers, which evaluated the cognitive performance and daytime and nighttime motor activity of 27 elderly dogs. A research that has focused on animals, but which can also be useful for human care. Sara Giovagnoli, professor of the ‘Renzo Canestrari’ Department of Psychology of the Alma Mater of Bologna also participated in the study.
“Dogs are subject to canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome – explains Giovagnoli – a pathology that has many similarities with Alzheimer’s disease. And for this reason they can serve as a model for translational studies on aging and cognition”. The parallelism between dog and man, continues the scientist, “allows us to highlight how the factors underlying a healthy and effective cognitive maintenance during aging are the same in the two species”. In fact, the results of the study highlight the link between motor activity, age and the capacity of working memory, a type of short-term memory that makes it possible to collect and manipulate the information necessary to carry out a specific task. In particular, motor activity and working memory skills tend to decline with advancing age.
“Physical activity significantly reduces cognitive decline and the risk of developing degenerative diseases, helping to maintain a good quality of life – says Giovagnoli – however advancing age, as well as cognitive decline, are often linked to a series of problems and physical sufferings that reduce the motivation to move. Thus a vicious circle is established which makes psycho-physical decline more probable”. The amount of hours of sleep is an essential element. Scholars have in fact shown that the reduction in sleep is connected to a decrease in motor activity during the day and excessive activity during the night.
These changes are characteristic of canine cognitive dysfunction and in humans may be considered risk factors for the development of degenerative diseases. Another key element is the relationship between motor activity, joint pain and the dog’s gait speed. In this case, motivation plays a key role. “Motivation is a multidimensional construct – explains Giovagnoli – which refers to the strength with which animals, or people, choose particular actions in particular moments or places, and results from the integration between the value of a reward and the effort required to Studies conducted in humans show that gait speed is predictive of a person’s daily physical activity, and lack of motivation is an important barrier to physical activity even in healthy elderly people or those with degenerative diseases”.