Ageing Changes In Brain

INTRODUCTION

Brain function varies normally as people pass from childhood through adulthood to old age.During
childhood, the ability to think and reason steadily increases, enabling a child to learn increasingly
complex skills.During most of adulthood, brain function is relatively stable.After a certain age, which
varies from person to person, brain function declines.The brain's size, vasculature, and cognition all
change as we get older. With age, the brain shrinks and changes occur at all levels, from chemicals to
morphology. With age, the risk of stroke, white matter lesions, and dementia increases, as does the
severity of memory impairment, as well as changes in neurotransmitter and hormone levels. Physical
and mental health may be the best defence against the effects of ageing on the brain.
 COMMON AGE CHANGES

Some areas of the brain decrease in size by up to 1% per year in some people but
without any loss of function.

.Age-related changes in brain structure do not always result in loss of brain

function.

.A decrease in brain function with ageing may be the result of numerous factors
that include changes in neurotransmitters, neurones, toxic substances that
accumulate in the brain over time, and inherited changes.
.Short-term memory and the ability to learn new material tend to be affected relatively
early.

.Verbal abilities, including vocabulary and word usage, may begin to decline later.
.Intellectual performance (the ability to process information, regardless of speed) is
usually maintained if no underlying neurologic or vascular disorders are present.
 What Changes Occur When the Brain Ages?

In the early years of life, the brain forms more than a million new neural connections
every second. By the age of 6, the size of the brain increases to about 90% of its volume
in adulthood.
Then, in our 30s and 40s, the brain starts to shrink with the shrinkage rate increasing
even more by age 60. Like wrinkles and gray hair that start to appear later in life, the
brain's appearance starts to change, too. And our brain’s physical morphing means that
our cognitive abilities will become altered. The following changes normally occur as we
get older.
 Brain mass: While brain volume decreases overall with age, the frontal lobe specific
areas of the brain responsible for cognitive functions - shrink more than other areas.
The frontal lobes are located directly behind the forehead. They are the largest lobes
in the human brain and are considered to be the human behavior and emotional
control centers for our personalities.
The hippocampus is a complex brain structure embedded deep into the temporal
lobe. It plays a major role in learning and memory. Studies have shown that the
hippocampus is susceptible to a variety of neurological and psychiatric disorders.
 Cortical density: This refers to the thinning of the outer corrugated surface of the
brain due to decreasing synaptic connections. Our cerebral cortex, the wrinkled outer
layer of the brain that contains neuronal cell bodies, also thins with age. Cortical
thinning follows a pattern similar to volume loss and is particularly pronounced in the
frontal lobes and parts of the temporal lobe. Lower density leads to fewer connections,
which could contribute to slower cognitive processing.
 White matter: White matter consists of myelinated nerve fibers that are bundled into
tracts and transmit nerve signals between brain cells. Researchers believe that myelin
shrinks with age, slowing down processing and reducing cognitive function. White matter
is a vast, intertwining system of neural connections that join all four lobes of the brain
(frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital), and the brain’s emotion center in the limbic
system.
 Neurotransmitter systems: The brain begins to produce different levels of
chemicals that affect neurotransmitters and protein production, ultimately leading to
a decline in cognitive function.
With these changes, older adults might experience memory challenges like difficulty
recalling names or words, decreased attention, or a decreased ability to
multitask .As the brain ages, neurons also begin to die, and the cells also produce a
compound called amyloid-beta.
Amyloid beta is what is typically associated with Alzheimer's. It can also be found in
the brain of an individual who is aging