New York : Your saliva can tell how strong your memory and analytical skills are, a new study shows, reports IANS.
Saliva of healthy individuals contains stress hormone cortisol. People with higher levels of cortisol in the evening were more likely to have a smaller total brain volume and to perform worse on tests of thinking and memory skills, the study found.
“Studies have shown that depression increases the risk for dementia, but we don’t know much about how this relationship occurs,” said study author Lenore J. Launer from the National Institute on Ageing in Bethesda.
“High levels of the stress hormone cortisol have been found in people with depression, and the theory is that cortisol has a toxic effect on the hippocampus area of the brain, which plays an important role in memory,” Launer explained.
The study involved 4,244 people with an average age of 76 who did not have dementia. Participants had a brain scan to look at brain volume and took tests of their thinking and memory skills.
