Scientists have found that our brain decline is not as simple as previously thought.
For decades, science taught us that our brains congnitive ability slowly declines once we reach a certain age. But as in life, science is not always 100% correct in its assumptions, as one recent study has now proven.
How can the super-ager’s neurons work differently than that of regular elderly citizens?
How our understanding of our brains has evolved over the years
Our understanding of how our brains work has changed dramatically over the years.
Aristotle was the first to develop a theory of where our cognitive ability comes from, when he argued that the heart was actually our center of intelligence. How wrong he turned out to be would have astonished such an important thinker of early human history.
Roman physician Galen then proved correctly that our brains were the seat of intelligence, and the race was on.
Our deep dive into neuroscience has found that in 1791, Luigi Galvani proved that our brains sent out electrical impulses that allowed our bodies and brains to work together.
Humans: The ultimate science project with a lot to prove
As we explore the world, going on a simple walk can reveal some amazing truths about our collective history.
Recent discoveries in Canada have revealed one of the earliest traces of humans in North America. But there is still so much we don’t understand about our history and the manner in which our brains developed and decline.
For decades, we thought that our brains were hardwired and impossible to change; we now know that our brains regularly reorganizes itself in a process known as neuroplasticity.
It was once a common assumption that our brains were fully formed during our teenage years.
Modern imaging of our thinking caps has revealed that actually our prefrontal cortex carries on maturing well into our late 20s and early 30s. So what else is there to be discovered about our central command system?
Looking back and studying our ancestry can reveal our origin timeline, but how we think and process information is still somewhat of a mystery.
A recent study, “Brains of ‘super agers’ are strong producers of new neurons”, published in Nature, has revealed a startling detail about aging.
Decline comes with the territory, but some age differently from others
A recent study published in Nature has stated “Superagers”, that is, those of us who are over 80 years old and still have a remarkable memory, produce many, many more neurons than those of a similar cognitive age.
Twice as many, in fact.
Additionally, we now understand that our brains are not the only organ that influences how we age. The study finds that those elderly citizens who still have their memory intact, in fact, have far more new neurons in their hippocampus.
This effectively rejuvenates our brain memory circuits, like resetting a faulty electrical appliance.
Not everyone ages the same, and some of us maintain our cognitive skills for a long time
The study notes that these “superagers” maintain their cognitive “sharpness” through sustained, high-rate neurogenesis. This reverses the theory that superagers simply declined at a slower rate than their peers.
The possible medical implications are profound and could lead us down a new path to revolutionary medical treatments for the elderly.
As we now understand, stimulating new neuron growth in the brain could become a possible therapeutic target for treating a wide range of cognitive diseases and issues in the elderly, such as dementia.
From cognitive decline to our brain “sleep switch”, science is revealing new truths that reshape our knowledge of self in amazing ways.