Defy Dementia™ Episode 30: Defy Dementia – Be Pet Smart!
While the companionship of pets has been studied in the context of cardiovascular health, their role in protecting brain health is less studied. Join us to investigate how an everyday dog walk may boost brain health through dementia risk-reduction factors including physical activity, well-being, social connection, and cognitive engagement. Co-host Jay Ingram – and author of The Science of Pets – joins psychologist and aging-brain expert Dr. Theone Paterson (University of Victoria) to explore how pets can help you defy dementia, while Dr. Lillian Hung (University of British Columbia; Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute) discusses innovations in dementia care technology, including robotic pets. Tune in at defydementia.org, or anywhere you get your podcasts.
Key Messages
- Caring for a pet, whether it’s a dog or a lizard, is good for your brain.
- Pets can improve lifestyle factors important for dementia risk reduction and boosting brain health.
- Robot pets may be an appropriate replacement for a living animal.
Key Actions
- If appropriate, consider an animal companion.
- Don’t disapprove of robot pets – they probably enhance wellbeing.
Resources
Learn more about our guests
Dr. Lillian Hung is an Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia School of Nursing and Clinician Scientist at Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, and the founder of the IDEA Lab. She leads a dynamic team of academics and patient and family partners dedicated to advancing dementia and aging research. Through co-designed projects and collaborative research, the IDEA Lab fosters innovation, emphasizing shared benefits and meaningful engagement to improve care and support for those affected by dementia. She focuses on patient-oriented research and innovative care for people living with dementia and their caregivers.
Dr. Theone Paterson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Victoria; an Affiliated Investigator at the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Affiliated Researcher at Fraser Health; and a Registered Psychologist with practice in Neuropsychology. She is the Past Chair of the Clinical Neuropsychology Section of the Canadian Psychological Association; and is currently a Co-Investigator and Local Site Principal Investigator for the UVic Data Collection Site of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Her research interests include improving understanding of the interplay between cognition and psychosocial functioning and predicting real-world cognitive health outcomes as we age.