Based on the latest research in the field of neuroscience, American gerontologist Dr. Gene Cohen, director of the George Washington University Medical Center (USA), argues that the brain of an elderly person is much more plastic than is commonly believed. Over the course of life, our brains encode thoughts and memories, forming new neural connections. In addition, the interaction of the right and left hemispheres of the brain becomes more integrated, which expands our creative possibilities.
Not as fast as it was in youth, the brain of a healthy elderly person benefits from flexibility. Perhaps that is why it is in adulthood that we draw more accurate conclusions and make wise decisions. In addition, it has been found that as we age, our brains respond more calmly to negative emotions.
The brain begins to work at full strength at the age of 60-80. The peak of human intellectual activity occurs at about 70 years old, when the brain begins to work at full strength. Over time, the amount of myelin in the brain increases, a substance that makes the signal travel faster between neurons. As a result, the overall intellectual strength of the brain increases by up to 3000% compared to the average. And the peak in the production of myelin occurs at 60-80 years of age.
If before the age of 60 there is a strict distribution of functions between the two hemispheres of the brain, then after 60 years a person can use both parts of the brain at the same time, regulating their inclusion by slightly tilting the head to one side or the other. This allows us to solve much more complex problems.
The researchers selected volunteers of various age groups and asked them to answer a series of tests of various difficulty levels. It turned out that people of the older age group (60-75 years old) solve the most difficult problems much easier and faster. The younger participants in the experiment, in critical situations, when solving complex problems, tried to solve them by calculating all possible options, which, in the end, led to confusion. While those who were over 60, with surprising accuracy chose two or three alternative options leading them to the only correct solution.
Professor Monchy Uri from the University of Montreal believes that "the brain of an elderly person chooses the least energy-intensive path, reducing unnecessary and leaving only the right options for solving the problem."
Along with this, the life experience of older people, received throughout their life, also affects. They are less likely to be confused by unusual or emotional information than young people. As professor at the University of California, Dilip Jayst, said, "The brain of a person who has decades of life behind him is less impulsive and more rational."
This is what we call wisdom - a mixture of knowledge and subconscious experience that allows you to make quick and only correct decisions.
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Features of the brain in middle age (60-70 years):
- the neurons of the brain do not die off (it was believed up to 30%), but connections between them may disappear if a person does not engage in serious mental work;
- with age, the amount of myelin (white matter of the brain) increases in the brain, and reaches a maximum after 60 years. This causes an acceleration of the passage of signals from neuron to neuron, and the intellectual "power" increases 30 times;
- absent-mindedness and forgetfulness - payback for the excess of information in the "operative" memory;
- in middle age, a person becomes more resistant to stress, and can work more efficiently under conditions of strong emotional stress;
- from the age of 60, a person, when solving problems, uses not one hemisphere at the same time, like in young people, but both (cerebral ambidexterity);
- in middle age, intuition increases significantly;
- the peak of cognitive functions is in the range of 60-70 years;
- with a healthy lifestyle, the intellectual "power" does not decrease with age, but only increases, reaching a peak at 80, and sometimes at 90 years.