08/26/2021 6:01 AM
Clarín.com
Good Life
Updated 08/26/2021 6:01 AM
The association is usually immediate: with old age, our brain gradually loses some of its capacities.
Perhaps that is why the results of new research from Georgetown University Medical Center, which claims that
at least two
key
brain functions
can improve over time,
are surprising
.
These are two very relevant skills: both brain function that allows us to
pay attention
to new information, and that which makes us focus on what is important in a given situation, would be trained over time, and therefore would improve in advanced ages.
These functions are the foundation for
critical aspects of cognition such
as memory, decision-making, and self-control, and even math, language, and reading.
In the research - an observational study published in
Nature Human Behavior
-
three
separate
components
of attention and executive function
were analyzed
in a group of 702 participants between the ages of 58 and 98 (ages after which cognition begins to change).
Executive alert, orientation and inhibition
Specifically, it is about the brain networks involved in alertness, orientation and executive inhibition, each having different characteristics based on different areas of the brain, neurochemicals and genes.
Therefore, according to their authors, networks can also show
different aging patterns.
As explained there, the
alert
is characterized by a state of greater vigilance and readiness to respond to incoming information.
The
orientation
involves moving brain resources to a particular location in space.
The
executive
network
inhibits
conflicting or distracting information, allowing us to focus on what is important.
“We use all three processes constantly,” explains first author João Veríssimo, assistant professor at the University of Lisbon, Portugal.
Some skills that are learned over time, improve in old age.
Photo Shutterstock.
“For example, when you are driving, alerting is the best preparation when approaching an intersection.
Orientation occurs when you shift your attention to an unexpected movement, such as a pedestrian.
And executive function allows you to
inhibit distractions
like birds or advertisements so you can focus on driving, ”he explains.
The study found that only alertness skills declined with age.
In contrast, both
orientation and executive inhibition improved.
The explanation
Researchers hypothesize that because orientation and inhibition are simply skills that allow people to pay
selective attention to objects
, these skills can improve with lifelong practice.
That improvement may be significant enough to overcome
underlying neuronal declines
, the authors suggest.
On the contrary, they believe that alertness is diminished because this basic state of vigilance and preparedness cannot improve with practice.
Reading is one of the activities that could be improved.
Photo Shutterstock.
"These results are staggering and have
important consequences
for how we should view aging," said the study's lead researcher, Michael T. Ullman, a professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Director of the Georgetown Brain and Language Laboratory.
"People have widely assumed that attention and executive functions decline with age, despite
intriguing suggestions
from some smaller studies that raised questions about these assumptions," he says.
"But the results of our large study indicate that critical elements of these skills actually
improve with aging,
probably because we simply practice these skills throughout our lives."
"This is even more important because of the rapidly aging population, both in the United States and around the world," says Ullman.
He adds that with more research, it is possible to deliberately improve these skills, such as increasing
protection against
brain
deterioration
in aging.
"Due to the relatively large number of participants and because we ruled out numerous alternative explanations, the findings must be
reliable
and therefore can be applied quite broadly," says Veríssimo.
Furthermore, he explains that "because orientation and inhibition skills underlie numerous behaviors, the results have
far-reaching
implications
."
"The findings not only change our view of how aging affects the mind, but can also lead to clinical improvements, even for patients with aging disorders such as
Alzheimer's disease,
" closes Ullman enthusiastically.
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