The Ageing Brain

Morse code and the ageing brain

Even after a stroke or a diagnosis of dementia, intense Morse code practice can deliver surprising benefits

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Most of us, hopefully, will get to grow old. If we are so privileged, we are likely eventually to experience some decline in our mental capacities and cognitive health.

The good news is that, just as we can take care of our bodies with exercise and a good diet, we can also do things to improve cognitive health — even in the face of such traumatic events as a stroke, or a diagnosis of dementia. 

A friend of mine (and my mathematics teacher at high school) is also an amateur. Steve, VK3CAX, wrote to me recently with the news that he was recovering from two strokes last year. He asked me to share this story with other amateurs as a bit of a “good news story”.  

“I think I told you I had 2 strokes last year while I was in Germany. 
Lost use of my right hand and the ability to walk. After intense physio
etc, I’m virtually back to normal.  However, one thing I learned was
that to recover lost abilities, I needed to practise the skill intensely
until it returned.  I was advised that I had about 6 months to do this. 
Of course, you don’t always know what you’ve lost. I got back to
Melbourne about 2 months after the strokes, able to walk and write
again.  Then I discovered I couldn’t send CW! After about 10 days and 30
mins practice per day, it was back. Your discussion of muscle memory
resonated with me.

In an ageing amateur population, my experience of losing my morse must
be happening quite frequently.  My advice is to immediately get on the
key and start re-learning …. not the intellectual component, but the
muscular one!”   Maybe you could pass on this advice via QTC”.

Notice that phrase Steve uses “I needed to practise the skill intensely”.

In a related story, Terry Jackson, WB0JRH, revealed in an interview with Bruce Pea on the podcast, Dit Dit FM, that he was diagnosed with dementia a year before the interview. Terry was quite candid about his condition.

And it’s not that I’m without any kind of problems. I have associated problems with that disease. But the reason I mention it is I make a point of getting on air or at least using Morse code almost every day. And I believe that’s what slows down this whole dementia process. So it will be interesting as we move forward. But I’ve had some neuropsychologist tell me that, because I tell them that’s what I do to try to change the brain patterns. And they said it’s interesting because if you’re to go back to the same thing, if you’re like doing a puzzle, and the same puzzle every day, it’s kind of like Morse code. Your brain would stop moving forward, because its made those connections. So that’s why with CW, you’re 100% concentration all the time.

The key point here is that by engaging regularly in a muscular/cognitive activity that requires “100% concentration” (ie, using Morse code on air, nearly daily) Terry was hoping to “slow… down the whole dementia process”, and a neuropsychologist told him this sounded like a plausible outcome because he was engaging in an activity that would cause his brain to form new neural connections.

I wrote to Terry asking him for an update and received the following:

“Thanks for your email and wonderful info on muscle memory.  I believe sending and copying CW has slowed down my memory impairment.  The major impact for me is very short memory loss.  I can copy words at 40 WPM, although I usually forget the first word by the time another passes.  I am working on improving this.  I am optimistic that this will get better.  The real upside is that working with CW has improved my expected memory loss.”

It’s great to read both these stories. One conclusion I draw from them is that even if we think we are too old to learn Morse code, or we think we “just can’t” for some other reason, there is, in fact, still hope for us. Regular practicing  proven techniques for mastering Morse code will greatly enhance anyone’s chances of success.

On a more personal note, I also really appreciate Steve’s and Terry’s willingness to share their personal stories.