{"id":483,"date":"2019-05-28T09:35:58","date_gmt":"2019-05-28T09:35:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brainsparks.com.au\/?p=483"},"modified":"2019-06-12T06:49:50","modified_gmt":"2019-06-12T06:49:50","slug":"how-ageing-affects-the-brain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brainsparks.com.au\/how-ageing-affects-the-brain\/","title":{"rendered":"How Ageing Affects the Brain"},"content":{"rendered":"

Years ago, scientists thought that human brain connections developed at a rapid pace in early life, reaching a mental peak in the early 20s. Cognitive abilities would stabilise around middle age, and gradually decline after. However, this is not an accurate reflection on how our brains develop as we age.<\/p>\n

Scientists now know that the brain is continuously changing and developing across our entire life<\/a>. There is no point in time when cognitive abilities hold steady. As some of our brain functions become weaker with age, others actually improve.<\/p>\n

Changes in the Brain in Older Adults<\/h2>\n

Ageing increases the branching of dendrites<\/a>, and connections between distant brain areas strengthen. With these changes, the mature brain is actually better at distinguishing relationships between varied sources of information, capturing the big picture, and understanding the holistic implications of specific situations. This research lends itself to the popular saying that the older we get, the wiser we become.<\/p>\n

However, as we get older, some of our brain areas shrink in size and the myelin sheath<\/a>, which protects nerve fibres wears down, which can slow the speed of communication between the neurons in our brain. In addition, surface receptors that enable neurons to communicate with each other cease to function as well as they used to. This affects an older person\u2019s ability to process and store new information in their memory, as well as their ability to retrieve the information that’s already there.<\/p>\n

Another downside to the ageing brain is the significant increase in the risk of brain diseases.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Age and Brain Diseases<\/h2>\n

Brain diseases such as\u00a0Alzheimer\u2019s disease<\/a>, Huntington\u2019s disease<\/a> and other\u00a0forms of dementia<\/a> are more likely to develop as you age, slowly impairing memory and thought processes. These diseases are types of neurodegenerative diseases.<\/p>\n

Neurodegenerative diseases destroy the brain\u2019s tissue and nerves and cause brain function to deteriorate over time. They can also change a person\u2019s personality and cause them significant confusion. These diseases can be difficult to spot as small changes are often put down to getting older. However, the more common symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases include:<\/p>\n