8:48 a.m., March 18, 2009----The American Society on Aging, in collaboration with the MetLife Foundation, has announced that Academy of Lifelong Learning at the University of Delaware was selected as winner of the MindAlert Award in the category for lifelong learning and third age learning programs.

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Ruth Flexman, academy program coordinator, will accept the award at the Aging in America Conference of the American Society on Aging and National Council on Aging being held March 15-19 in Las Vegas.

The MindAlert Awards is a national project designed to recognize outstanding programs developed to improve mental stimulation and creative outlets in later life.

Research has shown that cognitive decline is not an inevitable part of the aging process. New findings in brain health research offer a striking model of aging as a time of brain health and growth resulting in an opportunity to lead qualitatively better lives filled with more knowledge and wisdom, and an increased capacity to contribute to society.

The awards are given to organizations that have demonstrated high-quality, innovative programs, based on scientific evidence. The winning programs must enhance functioning and quality of life or prevent functional decline in older adults.

The University of Delaware's Academy of Lifelong Learning offers opportunities for older adults to express themselves, build cognitive reserves and form social connections through an expansive performing arts program that is integrated into the academic curriculum.

“The American Society on Aging's Review Committee found the University of Delaware's Academy of Lifelong Learning program to be very innovative, reaching a diverse number of older adults,” said Dean Blevins, chairperson of the ASA-MetLife MindAlert Advisory Committee.

Review Committee members noted that this is truly a program that can engage older adults cognitively, physically and socially.

Other winners of the 2009 Mind Alert Awards include the Gerontechnology Consortium of Westchester, Mount Vernon, N.Y.; the Memory Academy, San Leandro, Calif.; and the Performing Arts Training Program at Stagebridge Theatre, Oakland, Calif.

Growth of the academy

Growing from an initial 14 courses when it began in 1980, the Academy of Lifelong Learning currently offers more than 200 courses each semester on a wide variety of topics, all taught by volunteer instructors, to 2,100 members age 50 and over. The average age of members is 70.

More than 700 members volunteer in a variety of capacities. Membership also includes travel and additional cultural and educational opportunities. Lecture series and courses are also offered in the summer.

Performing arts programs

Performing arts courses offer a wide variety of options for playing, singing, dancing, acting and listening. Academy members at all levels of experience have opportunities to benefit from the enjoyment of the performing arts. Musical tastes are honored through experiences with folk, classical, jazz, rock, Latin jazz, musicals, and opera.

The performing arts program has grown from nine courses in 2000 to more than 30 courses with approximately 1,200 course registrations each semester. Unlike many other programs, the academy program welcomes beginners with courses in recorder, band and strings and appropriate methods are used for instruction. For example, in recorders, the instructor developed a Web site that plays the beginning songs to aid in practice because older adults may require a greater number of repetitions to learn a new skill.

Intermediate level courses are offered for those who begin playing again after a hiatus of 40 or 50 years.

The Academy of Lifelong Learning Band has grown to 78 members, the chorus to 65 members and the orchestra to 22 members. The Circle Singers enjoy folk music and the Chamber Choir explores American music.

Members in drama courses enjoy performing and sometimes writing new words to familiar melodies or creating original skits. For example, a member in his mid 80s who is active in the academy thanks to the pacemaker in his heart wrote to the tune of “I've Got You Under My Skin:”

I've got one under my skin
Attached to a wire that goes down into the heart of me
So deep in my heart, it now is a part of me
I've got one under my skin.

The academy's outreach program includes more than 50 venues in addition to performances at the academy. Performance level is matched with the audience. Nursing homes appreciate sing-alongs and a high level of skill is not needed for performers and residents to have a rewarding experience.

The Academy Band and Academy Chorus perform for larger, more sophisticated audiences in community venues. Dramatic groups perform, often with original skits or familiar songs with new words written by members.

Positive impact of performing arts activities

Recent research has demonstrated the positive impact of participation in performing arts on cognitive fitness. Two important documented findings include neurogenesis (brains form neural connections throughout the lifespan) and neuroplasticity (brains change structure and function in response to behavior).

Both neurogenesis and neuroplasticity are related to the degree of brain stimulation. Imaging of the brain makes it possible to note that in playing music, the sensory, auditory, visual, prefrontal and motor cortex areas of the brain all show evidence of stimulation. On the emotional level, music activates the pleasure hormones, serotonin and dopamine.

Gene Cohen's study on “The Impact of Professionally Conducted Cultural Programs on Older Adults” demonstrated that the intervention group that participated in performing arts programs, in comparison with the control group, reported improvement in general health, increased participation in activities, decreased falls, fewer visits to doctors, less increase in use of medications, greater decreases in loneliness, and less depression and decline in morale.

Academy testimonials

Academy surveys and testimonials support these research results. Phrases academy members have used to describe their experiences include “love music,” “good mood,” “lose myself,” “do not notice my chronic pain,” and “coming to the Academy saved my life.”

One band participant noted, “Since starting to play, I wake up feeling like a kid on Christmas morning -- just knowing there are good things waiting.”

Another commented, “I wonder if I had been suffering from a low grade depression before, since now I feel happy almost all the time. This has been a life changing experience for me. I enjoy the camaraderie and the friendship in the band.”

A DVD has been created of interviews of band members and their experiences. Life stories of musical experience often include a 40 to 50 year hiatus of playing an instrument. One interviewee described how he was so embarrassed to try playing a clarinet after 47 years that he only played at home in the basement. Now he plays in two bands and three ensemble groups.

A beginning trumpet player, now in her 90s, described her cognitive challenge this way: “It took work to make a sound and more work to think fast enough as to which valve to press to make a particular note. My mind was conflicted for I had played violin many years ago, and when I saw a note my impulse was to signal the finger on the left hand that should press the string down for that note. Then I had to think through what was needed.” The brain needs novel and challenging stimulation to create new pathways such a learning to play a musical instrument.

An enthusiastic band member described her early experience in beginning to play trombone. As a piano player early in life, she doubted she could ever play music again because she had lost three right-hand fingers in an accident. Ten years ago, an Academy Band member convinced her that the index and thumb are the only fingers needed to play trombone. After six months of playing, her physician was amazed during her periodic check on her chronic lung condition. He said, “Keep doing it. Playing is extremely beneficial to you.” She says, “It's the best medicine I ever had.”