PJA Blog: The Complex Brand

New research suggests that the left (analytical, logical, speech, language, reasoning) and right (creative, less disciplined, face recognition, reading of emotional cues) sides of the brain become better integrated during middle age, making way for greater creativity. As you all know, this is literal as well as figurative, because the two brain hemispheres are real, and connected by a row of fibers called the corpus callosum. The aging brain simply grows stronger through use and challenge.Gene Cohen, founding director of the Center on Aging, Health & Humanities at GWU Medical Center, sees four phases of activity that begin in the early 40s (don’t worry, everyone, you’ll get there soon enough):

1. midlife re-evaluation (early 40s): new goals and priorities
2. liberation (55-75): shed past inhibitions to express the self more freely
3. summing-up (65-85): review life, give back
4. encore (75+): affirmation and fellowship amid adversity and loss

Neurons may lose processing speed with age, but become more richly intertwined. That is why it’s more likely for older people to use their gut rather than agonize over what their heart says versus their head (there goes Operations Research).

More good news: you are less likely to dwell on negative feelings as you age and you are less likely to fly off the handle. Why? The amygdalae mellow, too. Those being the pair of almond-shaped structures that sit near the center of the brain, screening sensory data for signs of trouble.

What can boost the power, clarity and subtlely of our brains as we age?

1. Physical exercise. It increases blood flow to the brain and filters waste from it while boosting oxygen levels.
2. Mental exercise. Maybe there’s something to those sudoku after all.
3. Challenging leisure activities. Dance, play board games, play an instrument, do a sudoku, read.
4. Achieve mastery at something. Learn a language, play an instrument, take up painting.
5. Establish a strong social network. It lowers your blood pressure, among other things.

Remember, it’s not crisis, it’s opportunity. Or something.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 11th, 2006 at 9:23 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.