Gary's Newsletter 354: The Healthy Aging Brain
Posted by Gary R Collins on October 22, 2009 Comments 0
THE HEALTHY AGING BRAIN
I rarely give much thought to my birthday and I debated about writing the next sentence. But I was born on October 22, 1934 so that makes me 75 today. There won't be any celebrations, presents or candles. I won't even be home or near a telephone or computer. Instead I expect to spend time on an airplane and maybe do some journaling.
Birthdays can be great times for reflection and thanksgiving. Today my wife and I will look back over the 45 years that we have been married and my half century in psychology. But at this stage in life we're also looking ahead. This is a great time to be alive and the future can be bright.
Last summer a student gave me a copy of Louis Cozolino's fascinating book The Healthy Aging Brain: Sustaining Attachment, Attaining Wisdom. The author is a psychologist, specializing in neurobiology. His book acknowledges the now accepted idea that brains do not remain static after early childhood. Instead, brains can continue to grow and function optimally throughout life. Physical and mental exercise keep the brain healthy but there is more. Cozolino notes that "the best overall environment for a healthy aging brain is one that optimizes challenges and maximizes attachments."
This concept of attachment is of special interest. "The brain is an organ of adaptation and change," but it's also "a social organ, only understood in relationship to other brains." Brains mature and grow in wisdom when individuals "play a variety of roles that contribute to the survival and wellbeing of others. Ponder what this means for elderly individuals, sitting all day with nothing or nobody to stimulate their brains. Think, too, of the implications of this research for counselors and for nations where elderly populations are getting larger.
I wrote my master's thesis and doctoral dissertation on cognitive issues related to aging. Today my energy continues to be boundless and my life is enriched by interactions with many people of different ages and cultures. Can brains (like mine) really stay sharp well into the later years? Please check this newsletter in October 2034 and I'll give you a report. And thanks to all of you who checked in today and who help keep me growing.
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