Photo by Mark Hooper
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Special Report
You’re Wiser Now
By Kelly Griffin, September & October 2005
A new look at the surprising resilience and growth potential of the human brain
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Read All Articles in This Special Report
Inside Jim's Brain: How Scientists Are Untangling the Mysteries of
Alzheimer's
What It Feels Like: A Personal Account of Living With Alzheimer's
He's Still in There: A Daughter's Perspective
Stay Sharp Longer: Nine Simple Things You Can Do
Finding Help: New Choices for People With Early-Stage Alzheimer's
Great Pretenders: Common Ailments and Drugs Known to Monkey With Memory
Web Exclusive: Feed Your Head With Healthy Brain Foods
You react faster when you're young. There's no getting around it.
But when people over 50 notice that they've lost a bit of that snap-crackle
speed, they frequently overlook the mental powers they've gained in the
bargain.
"In the old days, you called it wisdom," says Duke University
neurobiologist Lawrence Katz, Ph.D. "But what is wisdom, really? It is a
dense and rich network of associations developed through a lifetime of
experiences." You can't buy that richness, and you can't get it
from a pill. You have to earn it—by putting your gray matter to the test
time and time again. "There's a reason we don't have 20-year-olds
running Fortune 500 companies," Katz says.
Indeed, studies have shown that older adults are better at solving problems,
more flexible in their strategies, and better able to keep their cool during a
crisis than younger people are. They also tend to bounce back from a bad mood
more quickly.
Keep that in mind the next time you're wandering through a parking lot
looking for your car.
But it's not just that you get smarter in some ways as you age. The fact
is that, with the exception of glitches in short-term memory and a general
slowdown in thinking speed, you just don't lose much brainpower with normal
aging. It's usual to take longer to learn new information after 50, for
example, but once you have learned something new, it stays with you as well as
it does with younger people. And yet many older adults think they're losing
ground. In surveys, up to half of people over 65 say they have subjective
memory problems. (Only about 3 percent of people between the ages of 65 and 74
actually have Alzheimer's disease. The risk does rise with age, though;
nearly half of those over 85 may have it.)
In this special report, you'll find stories that reveal the latest
findings on normal—and abnormal—brain aging, and what you can do to
keep your noodle in the best possible shape.
Why the disconnect between what our older brains can really do and what we
think they can do? Blame it on our youth-obsessed culture. Many factors can
impair thinking and memory, but the most insidious is ageism. Researchers are
discovering that the more you buy into the notion that getting older means
losing your marbles, the more likely you are to succumb to it.
For example, Yale University psychologist Becca Levy, Ph.D., has found that
older people shown negative words about aging, such as senile, before
taking memory tests did significantly worse on the tests than those shown
positive words about aging, such as wisdom. In fact, people who saw positive
words improved their scores. Levy has also shown that in cultures with a more
positive view of aging than ours—China, for instance—older people
perform better on memory tests.
The American myth of inevitable mental decay comes in part from
cross-sectional studies—those in which young, middle-aged, and older
adults are given the same tests, and their results are compared. Is it any
wonder that people raised on PlayStation are better at video games than their
elders? By contrast, longitudinal studies—those in which a group of
people is followed over time—tell a different and much more positive
story.
A Rush University study of 1,000 priests, nuns, and brothers has shown that
the brainpower of older people changes little from year to year unless they
develop a dementing illness. Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis
found the same thing by testing people annually until the age of 90. (For an
in-depth look at how scientists study Alzheimer's, see "Inside
Jim's Brain.")
Researchers are discovering that the more you buy into the
notion that getting older means losing your marbles, the more likely you are to
succumb to it.
When a problem with thinking or memory does occur, it should be taken
seriously. If you find yourself forgetting things you used to know
cold—such as your own phone number or the route to the grocery
store—call the doctor. (For an insider's view of Alzheimer's
disease, see "What It Feels Like.")
But even abnormal memory problems don't necessarily mean Alzheimer's
disease. "There's a little saying we have in my field," says
Stanford University psychiatrist Jerome Yesavage, M.D. "When a patient
comes in and complains about their memory, they're depressed until proven
otherwise." Depression, head trauma, hormone problems, and other
conditions can cause problems with thinking and memory that may be reversible
with treatment. (See "Great Pretenders.")
One of the most encouraging recent findings is that lifestyle choices such
as a healthy diet and regular aerobic exercise may actually lower your risk of
developing dementia. Challenging your intellect with puzzles, lessons, and
simple changes in habit could offer additional protection. (For an at-home
program for boosting your brain, see "Stay Sharp Longer.")
And if you or a loved one has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease,
take heart. Though a cure seems painfully far off, a new understanding of the
disorder means a better life for patients and families. Clubs for those in the
early stages of the disease offer a way to hang on and fight back. (See
"Finding Help.") As author Judith Levine writes in an essay about her
father ("He's Still In There"), dementia can tear your memories
away from you—but not your heart or soul.
North Carolina-based medical writer Kelly Griffin wrote "Beat
Pain Step by Step" in the July & August issue.
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