The secret life of the grown-up brain
In her impeccably researched book, science writer Barbara Strauch explores the latest findings that demonstrate, through the use of technology such as brain scans, that the middle-aged brain is more flexible and more capable than previously thought. By detailing exactly the normal, healthy brain functions over time, Strauch also explains how its optimal processes can be maintained.
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- It's interesting how what we believe about our brains can actually influence how we end up using them. I subscribe to the neuroplasticity theory -- that your brain adapts to whatever you're doing the most. So some pathways become super-familiar (and harder to break out of) -- but you can start a new pattern with consistency. (One way people do this is with a carefully-chosen new routine.)
As far as aging goes, its impacts are more diverse than I thought, according to a really interesting book called "The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain: The Surprising Talents of the Middle-Aged Mind." Aging brains really haven't been studied until recently, and newer research (cited in the book) suggests that in some ways the brain improves at certain kinds of thinking during aging. (A rough model is that you spend your youth acquiring a raw mass of experience, and as you age it gets consolidated into actionable chunks.) So while you may have trouble recalling specific facts, aging brains also out-perform when it comes to synthesizing existing information and extrapolating solutions.
That's just one example from the book. Basically, aging brains are a lot more interesting than we give them credit for.
- Whilst I agree with the title of this post, it would be nice to have some evidence, or at least some examples of the sort of things that experience brings.
Related: "The Secret Life of the Grown Up Brain" is an interesting book looking at what works and does not work in the middle-aged brain (defined as being 40s, 50s, 60s): http://www.amazon.com/The-Secret-Life-Grown-up-Brain/dp/0670...
- This is some highlight from the book "The Secret Life of the Grown Up Brain" by Barbara Strauch
Neuroscientists found that:
* Longitudinal studies shows cognitive skills peak at middle age.
* Older people are happier. As one ages, they become calmer, more positive, and being able to regular them emotion better.
* The amount of white matter in the brain, myelin, continue to increase well into middle age. (i.e. better brain function)
* Older people are using both hemispheres of the brain to handle complex task, a phenomenon known as bilateralization. This is linked to higher cognitive ability.
http://tungwaiyip.info/blog/2010/10/29/secret_life_of_the_gr...
- Yeah, I came here to say: Exercise.
I was just reading a book called "The Secret Life of the Grown-up Brain: The Surprising Talents of the Middle-Aged Mind." One chapter discusses the 21st-century discovery of the brain's ability to create new brain cells in a crucial area....after exercise. It ran counter to 100 years of biological theory, but it was confirmed and confirmed again.
Exercise.
The only thing I'd add is: lowering stress. (Because stress damages your brain.) Meditation, sleeping well, having a healthy social life can all help. Basically, if you start taking basic steps to improve your general health...you will in fact improve.
- A few years ago the New York Times' science writer published a book called "The Secret Life of the Grown-up Brain: The Surprising Talents of the Middle-Aged Mind. She summarized the latest medical research, which was concluding that brain performance didn't really taper off as we aged, and there were actual spikes in performance in specific areas.
While there were smaller declines in things like remembering names, one theory was that what we know gets consolidated, allowing older brains to make greater leaps in logic more quickly. While older brains are distracted more easily, one study suggested people learn to compensate by using the left and right brain together to maintain focus and progress, and this results in bringing more "firepower" to bear on the tasks at hand.
- I drew a lot of inspiration from a similar article by a science writer at the New York Times (summarized in "The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain".)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0030CVRU2/ref=as_li_tl?ie=...
The basic theory is that young brains soak up experience, while older brains consolidate it. So older brains can make bigger leaps of logic -- the old cliche about "wiser" old people actual does have a biological basis. I wonder if this new study is just another piece of the same phenomenon. (New memory is stored in a different part of the brain because the old plastic/learning-storage centers have already been optimized and compressed...)
