Learning and the Aging Brain
This topic is dear to my heart. I went back to graduate school when I was 50! My classmates were 25! The first week of classes I felt like a deer in headlights – what had I done?! There are a lot of things I now know about the brain that I wish I had known then. And then again – maybe it was better I didn’t know some things. At first I survived, and then I excelled. It seemed like a bit of a stretch between those two points but I now understand that my brain was in hyper-change phase. As much as I was struggling to keep up – my brain was loving every minute of this challenge. And it responded. Here is what happened:
Our cognitive peak is age 25. Cognition starts to decline after that age. The umbrella of cognition includes thinking, decision-making, executive function and memory. Cognition is a descriptor for brain function. Speed of processing starts declining after age 25. Speed of processing is the ability of the brain to take in information, think about it and give a response. That first week of grad school the professor would ask a question and my 25 year-old classmates (who were at their cognitive peak) would be giving answers while I was still trying to figure out what the question was. My brain had been slowing down for awhile. What I experienced after that was amazing to me. I started responding as quick or quicker as my classmates. My brain was loving the challenge. Once I figured out what routines worked best for me, I was able to capture information, think critically and generally upped my capacity for learning.
Now I loved this experience. There are many people who are terrified of it. Can all aging brains learn new things? According to a study from Brown University, an aging brain may be able to learn tasks just as easily as a young brain, but it utilizes a different area of the brain for learning. Neuroplasticity, the ability of our brains to change and adapt, does not decline with age. It is adapting our brain to our environment until we die. However, our learning process shifts to our ‘white matter’- the brain’s wiring or axons. White matter is sheathed in myelin that can make the transmission of signals more efficient. Younger brains showed plasticity in the cortex, as expected by neuroscientists. “The degree of plasticity gets more and more limited with older people” said Takeo Watanabe, PhD of Brown University. “However they keep the ability to learn, visually at least, by changing white matter structure.”
A research study designed around visual input, observed the differences between older (65-81) and younger (19-32) participants in the visual cortex and the white matter under it. MRI imaging noted changes in the cortex and diffusion tensor imaging noted changes in the white matter beneath it. Researchers discovered that:
“For changes in the cortex, the younger learners showed significantly more than the older learners. For changes in the white matter, older learners showed significantly more than younger learners.”
With the older participants in this study, researchers were able to divide them into ‘good learners’ and ‘poor learners’. The study doesn’t account as to why older participants fell into one group or the other. And, it doesn’t definitively explain why white matter plasticity would enable good learners to learn well, although improved signal transmission efficiency is one hypothesis.
These white matter connections are mentioned by Dr. Deborah Burke in her research on ‘Tip of the Tongue’ phenomenon. Her research shows that incidence of ‘tots’ increase because neural connections, which receive, process, and transmit information can weaken with age (think of speed of processing here). There is some positive research that states: as the brain moves through middle age, it gets better at recognizing the central idea, the big picture. If you keep your brain in good shape it will continue to build more pathways that help you recognize patterns and, as a result, can see significance and solutions much faster than a younger person.
The ability of the brain to continually adapt, challenges older learners to look for greater complexity and deeper understanding. Even though we may not learn quite as fast, we are set up for this next step. Doing this may require you to get out of your comfort zone and confront thoughts that are contrary to our own. Dr. Kathleen Taylor of St. Mary’s College of California, believes that even though we need to know stuff, we must push forward and challenge our perception of the world. If you only talk with those who agree with you and read things that agree with what you already know – this does not benefit your brain. Science tells us that we must stretch our brain to keep it in good working order. As adults we have all those brain pathways built up, and we need to look at our insights critically, says Dr. Jack Mezirow of Columbia Teachers College. It is the best way for adults to learn and remain sharp.
You don’t have to go to graduate school to get your brain on the fast track again. There are many learning opportunities available these days. If there is a second career you want to pursue, look for classes that might help you get you started. If you are interested in learning for learning’s sake – try your local university. OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) and ILR (Institute for Learning in Retirement) offer classes for every aspect of life. And if you want to complete that degree program that you started long ago, visit admission counselors at your chosen school. We have a lot of years left in post-retirement. Our brains are capable of learning to the end. Learning is sweeter when you are older!
References:
Brown University. (December 2, 2014). Study finds the aging brain retains plasticity for learning. Retrieved September 29, 2016 from http://www.hearingreview.com/2014/12/study-finds-older-brains-learn-well-young-brains/
Strauch, B. (December 29, 2009). How to train the aging brain. Retrieved September 29, 2016 from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/education/edlife/03adult-t.html