Study Looks at the Nature of Change in Our Aging, Changing Brains

Study Looks at the Nature of Change in Our Aging, Changing Brains

As we get older, our cognitive abilities change, improving when we're younger and declining as we age. Scientists posit a hierarchical structure within which these abilities are organized. There's the "lowest" level -- measured by specific tests, such as story memory or word memory; the second level, which groups various skills involved in a category of cognitive ability, such as memory, perceptual speed, or reasoning; and finally, the "general," or G, factor, a sort of statistical aggregate of all the thinking abilities.

Older brains lack access to region for swift decisions

Older brains lack access to region for swift decisions

Decision-making takes time when we reach the golden years – but not necessarily because older people have a more cautious outlook on life. It might just reflect a lack of the connections to a brain area needed for speedy responses. One explanation for the slowdown is that older people are reluctant to commit the errors associated with a swift response. Birte Forstmann at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, has another theory.

For “Super Agers,” Bodies Age as Brains Stay Young

For “Super Agers,” Bodies Age as Brains Stay Young

A nasty affliction sets into humans as they advance in years. The hair either disappears or thins into a fuzzy halo, the skin sags and bunches, while inside the brain, changes set in that slow our reaction times and cause our memories to fade. A steady, widespread thinning out of the brain’s cortex, the outermost layer of the brain, is thought to underlie some of this cognitive transformation.