Playful brains: a possible neurobiological pathway to cognitive health in aging
Healthy cognitive aging emphasizes preserving cognitive functions essential for independence and well-being. Developing interventions that promote cognition and resilience in older individuals is crucial. Social playfulness, characterized by spontaneity and mutual enjoyment, allows individuals to st...
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| Format: | Article |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2025.1490864/full |
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| author | Yulia Golland Yulia Golland Boaz M. Ben-David Boaz M. Ben-David Boaz M. Ben-David Mara Mather Mara Mather Mara Mather Shoshi Keisari Shoshi Keisari Shoshi Keisari |
| author_facet | Yulia Golland Yulia Golland Boaz M. Ben-David Boaz M. Ben-David Boaz M. Ben-David Mara Mather Mara Mather Mara Mather Shoshi Keisari Shoshi Keisari Shoshi Keisari |
| author_sort | Yulia Golland |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Healthy cognitive aging emphasizes preserving cognitive functions essential for independence and well-being. Developing interventions that promote cognition and resilience in older individuals is crucial. Social playfulness, characterized by spontaneity and mutual enjoyment, allows individuals to step away from routine roles and engage in novel and surprising exchanges. Emerging evidence suggests that social playfulness is a promising approach for supporting cognitive functions in aging in a joyful and engaging way. In this theory and hypothesis manuscript, we propose a neurobiological pathway mediating the effects of social playfulness on cognition. Playful interactions generate high levels of uncertainty, requiring continuous adaptation and exploration. We suggest that these demands engage the locus coeruleus-noradrenaline (LC-NA) system, which is crucial for navigating uncertainty and sustaining arousal and flexibility needed to adapt to the dynamic and unpredictable nature of playful interactions. Importantly, the collaborative and safe environment of playfulness transforms this uncertainty-driven noradrenergic activation into an engaging and rewarding experience, enhancing focus, positive affect, and flexibility. In older adults, where LC-NA functionality may decline with age, social playfulness could counteract cognitive decline by upregulating this system. We review evidence linking LC-NA integrity to cognitive health and explore how playfulness might mitigate the deterioration of cognitive functioning by training executive functions and promoting novelty and exploration. This framework bridges neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and creative-arts therapies, highlighting social playfulness as a tool for healthy aging. We emphasize the need for further research to validate this hypothesis and explore its implications for designing interventions that leverage social playfulness to enhance cognitive resilience in older populations. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ac5a0d1da19340c091d31294fd9f3bac |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1662-5161 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj-art-ac5a0d1da19340c091d31294fd9f3bac2025-02-07T06:49:54ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience1662-51612025-02-011910.3389/fnhum.2025.14908641490864Playful brains: a possible neurobiological pathway to cognitive health in agingYulia Golland0Yulia Golland1Boaz M. Ben-David2Boaz M. Ben-David3Boaz M. Ben-David4Mara Mather5Mara Mather6Mara Mather7Shoshi Keisari8Shoshi Keisari9Shoshi Keisari10Dina Recanati School of Medicine, Reichman University, Herzliya, IsraelBaruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University, Herzliya, IsraelBaruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University, Herzliya, IsraelDepartment of Speech-Language Pathology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CanadaKITE, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Networks, Toronto, ON, CanadaLeonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United StatesDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United StatesSchool of Creative Arts Therapies, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, IsraelThe Center for Research and Study of Aging, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel0The Drama and Health Science Lab and the Emili Sagol Creative Arts Therapies Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, IsraelHealthy cognitive aging emphasizes preserving cognitive functions essential for independence and well-being. Developing interventions that promote cognition and resilience in older individuals is crucial. Social playfulness, characterized by spontaneity and mutual enjoyment, allows individuals to step away from routine roles and engage in novel and surprising exchanges. Emerging evidence suggests that social playfulness is a promising approach for supporting cognitive functions in aging in a joyful and engaging way. In this theory and hypothesis manuscript, we propose a neurobiological pathway mediating the effects of social playfulness on cognition. Playful interactions generate high levels of uncertainty, requiring continuous adaptation and exploration. We suggest that these demands engage the locus coeruleus-noradrenaline (LC-NA) system, which is crucial for navigating uncertainty and sustaining arousal and flexibility needed to adapt to the dynamic and unpredictable nature of playful interactions. Importantly, the collaborative and safe environment of playfulness transforms this uncertainty-driven noradrenergic activation into an engaging and rewarding experience, enhancing focus, positive affect, and flexibility. In older adults, where LC-NA functionality may decline with age, social playfulness could counteract cognitive decline by upregulating this system. We review evidence linking LC-NA integrity to cognitive health and explore how playfulness might mitigate the deterioration of cognitive functioning by training executive functions and promoting novelty and exploration. This framework bridges neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and creative-arts therapies, highlighting social playfulness as a tool for healthy aging. We emphasize the need for further research to validate this hypothesis and explore its implications for designing interventions that leverage social playfulness to enhance cognitive resilience in older populations.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2025.1490864/fullagingplayfulnesslocus coereleusnoradrenalin (NA)arousalexploration |
| spellingShingle | Yulia Golland Yulia Golland Boaz M. Ben-David Boaz M. Ben-David Boaz M. Ben-David Mara Mather Mara Mather Mara Mather Shoshi Keisari Shoshi Keisari Shoshi Keisari Playful brains: a possible neurobiological pathway to cognitive health in aging Frontiers in Human Neuroscience aging playfulness locus coereleus noradrenalin (NA) arousal exploration |
| title | Playful brains: a possible neurobiological pathway to cognitive health in aging |
| title_full | Playful brains: a possible neurobiological pathway to cognitive health in aging |
| title_fullStr | Playful brains: a possible neurobiological pathway to cognitive health in aging |
| title_full_unstemmed | Playful brains: a possible neurobiological pathway to cognitive health in aging |
| title_short | Playful brains: a possible neurobiological pathway to cognitive health in aging |
| title_sort | playful brains a possible neurobiological pathway to cognitive health in aging |
| topic | aging playfulness locus coereleus noradrenalin (NA) arousal exploration |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2025.1490864/full |
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