Some of the stereotypes we have about the brain and aging are being dispelled by recent research. Here are some myths and new reality.
1. Myth: Once you're born, all you can look forward to is a long and steady loss of brain cells.
REALITY: "Stem" cells in the brain can create new neurons, and idle neurons will extend their branches to carry signals to and from other neurons indefinitely, under the right conditions.
2. MYTH: We can't get smarter as we age.
REALITY: Mice in an enriched environment (new toys and playmates), increased 4000 new neurons in the hippocampus (crucial to memory and learning) compared to 2400 in the control group. Older mice's brains also got bigger and better quickly! (Diamond and Rosenzweig, Elizabeth Gould, Princeton)
3. MYTH: Creativity diminishes with age.
REALITY: According to Ralph Warner, author of "Get a Life: You Don't Need a Million to Retire Well," "older artists often do well, commonly experiencing a sustained burst of exciting creativity after 65."
4. MYTH: There isn't much you can do to avoid Alzheimer's.
REALITY: According to David Snowden, Ph.D., "Aging with Grace," hardworking brains (the ones that keep learning new challenging things) do well because their stimulated cells branch frequently. This results in millions of new synapses so the brain actually becomes larger and a larger brain can cope better with the effects of brain diseases, like Alzheimer's and strokes. Theoretically because it has more active tissue, and therefore a greater number of ways to work around diseased or damaged areas.
5. MYTH: What you've got, is all you'll ever get.
REALITY: According to Paula Tallal, Rutgers neuroscientist, "You create your brain from the input you get," i.e., intellectual stimulation strengthens the brain because in the normal course of living, our brains constantly reorganize themselves, which is called neuroplasticity." Neuroplasticity accelerates with the amount and complexity of the new information our brains receive.
6. MYTH: As you age, it's too hard to learn new things, so stick with what you already know.
REALITY: According to Arnold Scheibel, head of UCLA's Brain Research Institute, the brain's axons and dendrites (which send and receive messages) grow fastest with new material. "The important thing is to be actively involved in areas unfamiliar to you," say Golden and Tsiaras, in "Building a Better Brain." "Anything that is intellectually challenging can probably serve as a kind of stimulus for dendritic growth, which means it adds to the computational reserves in your brain." Sounds to me like building new hard drive, yes?
7. MYTH: Watching the Discovery Channel suffices for stimulation.
REALITY: Dr. Robert Friedland reports that adults over age 70 with brain-stimulating hobbies were two and a half times less likely to suffer from the effects of Alzheimer's later in life than were those whose main leisure activity was watching TV.
8. MYTH: In order to stimulate and grow the brain, you must engage in formal schooling.
REALITY: According to Warner, traditional academic subjects aren't the only answer. The key is to find something both new and challenging to you. Therefore, if you're an engineering professor, for instance, you're better off learning how to grow roses, write poetry, or fly a plane.
9. MYTH: I can ignore it for a while and it will still be there when I get back.
REALITY: According to neurologist Oliver Sacks, our body's economy dictates that if neurons dedicated to perform a given skill are not being used, they'll either atrophy or be co-opted to some other function.
10. MYTH: Intellectual stimulation is enough.
REALITY: Aerobic exercise may be especially beneficial to brain function in aging people, because it tends to keep blood vessels in better shape (Marion Diamond). Mice that exercised regularly on a running wheel grew twice as many new brain cells (in the hippocampus) (Salk study).
So there you have it! Jog on out for those new toys and new playmates and get a better brain and a better life! And it's never too late unless you don't start now.
About the Author
Susan helps people enhance their brains and develop their emotional intelligence. Visit her on the web at
http://www.susandunn.cc. Mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc for Free ezine; put "ezine" for subject line. Coaching, ebooks, teleclasses. Susan trains and certifies EQ coaches. Email for info on affordable, fast, no-residency program.
