Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Renew

An important new insight

A sharp mind is more than just a certain number of neurons; it's how the neurons work together. If you look at each region in a person's brain on its own, it may seem in good shape. But those regions have a harder time working together as we get older. Remarkably, though, our brains have the ability to rewire their own networks. When a person loses his eyesight, for example, his brain will connect the visual processing center of the brain to neurons -carrying information from other senses. And Buckner's own research shows that many people reorganize their brain networks to cope with aging. Just as older athletes use experience and technique to maintain a high level of performance, so the aging brain can be trained to function more efficiently even as it deteriorates physically.

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