The Aging Brain
As a person ages, there are expected changes in all the physical parts of the body. While still a baby, the body of an individual is at its smallest size. As age passes, they gradually grow to their maximum size, later starting to become smaller as their muscles wear out. The brain of an individual undergoes through change as age passes. A 45-year-old man, for example, could have a faster body compared to that of a 96year older man. The brain also inhibits similar characteristics.
Neuroscientists have developed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a technology that lets the scientists watch as neural circuits work in real-time. Other technology like the magnetoencephalography (MEG) alongside the electroencephalography (EEG) are also developing for the same purpose.
The brain is divided into three sections, the fore, mid, and the hindbrain. The forebrain is the part of the brain most involved with thinking and voluntary action. It is made up of the hypothalamus, thalamus, and the cerebrum. The cerebrum makes up most parts of the brain and is the most involved part of the brain. It is also the most affected part of the brain by aging. It is generally associated with thinking and action.
The cerebrum is divided into the cerebral cortex and other subcortical structures. The cerebral cortex is composed of the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital love, and the temporal lobe. As the individual increases in age, the cerebral cortex becomes weakened and cannot perform its functions efficiently. The frontal lobe becomes slow to speech, can not solve problems faster, and movement and emotion expression are slower. The parietal lobe fails in recognition and becomes slow in the perception of stimuli. The occipital lobe becomes slow to visual processing, and the temporal lobe weathers as it can not keep memory or react to auditory stimuli.
The midbrain acts as a bridge that connects the hindbrain to the forebrain. The work of the midbrain is to transfer signals from the hindbrain to the forebrain. The major functions of the midbrain are motor control, temperature regulation, and alertness. It is also associated with vision and hearing. When observed through an fMRI, the brain of the 45-year-old should have more active neural activity than the brain of the 96year old. This is because, as one age, all the reflexes caused through this function become slower, and thus mind activity is also slower.
The hindbrain is the part of the brain involved with the motor system that controls involuntary functions. It contains the other four lobes of the brain and is divided into the medulla oblongata, pons, and cerebellum. The cerebellum is the most involving part of the brain, and it is responsible for the transfer of information, body balance maintenance, and all motor actions of the body. The 45-year-old has full control of his hindbrain, and he is quite active in his motor actions. The 96-year-old is however, not even expected to move around a lot, and if they do, they need a walking stick for balance. The hindbrain is, therefore, slow and weak and hard to control the motor actions.
As an individual age, so it makes his mind. The neural responses of the mind slow down, and thus, the body;’s responses become slower. The front mind loses control of thinking, and an individual loses judgment, the midbrain becomes slow to transfer neural messages, and the hindbrain loses the ability to maintain the body’s motor balance.