The Scientific American Healthy Aging Brain The Neuroscience of Making the Most of Your Mature Mind

by Unknown

• ISBN13: 9780470647738
• ISBN10: 0470647736
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-06-05
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

Good news about getting older from Scientific American and Scientific American Mind The Scientific American Truth About Your Aging Brain taps into the most current research to unearth secrets about the brain as it ages. Neurologists and psychologists have discovered the brain from 35 to 65 is much more elastic and supple than anyone previously realized. Far from disintegrating, the aging brain can continue to develop and adapt in many ways. Happiness increases and, while our short-term memory may not be what it was, we gain better control, and better neural networks which was entirely beyond us when we were younger. Shows how aging people can still achieve new levels of intelligence, acquire new skills, perspective, and productivity Dispels myths about the aging brain-improvement is possible, but we should also be aware of what to expect as our brains mature Offers new insights on how even an aged brain can repair itself, and the best strategies for keeping your brain healthy In a hopeful but truthful tone, this book helps us understand the good and bad of aging in terms of the brain.

Author Biography

Judith Horstman is the author of The Scientific American Day in the Life of Your Brain, The Scientific American Brave New Brain, and The Scientific American Book of Love, Sex, and the Brain. She's an award-winning science journalist whose work has been widely published and is the author of four other books. Visit her Web site at www.JudithHorstman.com

Scientific American is one of the most popular science magazines in the world.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. xi
Preface: Live Long, and Live Well	p. xiii
Introduction: Welcome to the New Old Age	p. 1
What's Old, Anyway?	p. 2
How Scientists Are Researching Your Brain	p. 3
How Your Brain Grows	p. 7
The Well-Aged Brain: Older and Happier	p. 9
The Myth of a Sad Old Age	p. 10
Actually, It's Getting Better All the Time	p. 12
Great Late Achievers	p. 14
Are Grandparents Safer Drivers?	p. 16
Do You Think I'm Sexy? Apparently, Yes-at Any Age	p. 16
A Swell of Centenarians: One Hundred Reasons to Take Care of Your Brain	p. 20
How Your Brain Grows: Zero to Sixty	p. 21
In the Beginning: Your Fetal and Baby Brain	p. 23
A Brief Tour of Your Brain	p. 24
The Gray and the White: Neurons and Myelin	p. 26
Childhood: Building the Brain	p. 28
The Teen Brain: Not Yet Ready for Prime Time	p. 29
Get Smart Younger, Delay Dementia Older	p. 32
The Peak Years: Twenties to Sixties	p. 33
Your Brain Growing Older: What to Expect in a Healthy Aging Brain	p. 37
The Usual Effects of Aging	p. 39
Do the Brains of Men and Women Age Differently?	p. 40
How Memory Works: The Short Version	p. 41
Why White Matter Matters	p. 45
The Aging Brain: Is It Less Connected?	p. 46
Forgetting May Be Vital to Remembering	p. 47
Five Things Most People Get Wrong About Memory	p. 48
The Good News: Slower Is Sometimes Better	p. 51
More Easily Distracted: Why Multitasking Is a Task	p. 55
Threats to Your Brain	p. 59
What Can Go Wrong	p. 61
When Your Brain Needs Help: How Can You Tell?	p. 64
The Darkness of Dementia	p. 67
Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Subtle Loss	p. 69
Stroke: The Brain Attack	p. 70
A Healing Stroke	p. 72
Parkinson's Disease	p. 74
Your Brain on Diabetes: Not So Sweet	p. 75
Traumatic Brain Injury: A Blow to Your Thinking Brain	p. 77
Depression: An Abnormal State	p. 78
The Legacy of Cancer: "Chemo Brain"	p. 81
Too Much of a Good Thing: When Medications Mess Up Your Mind	p. 82
What-Me Worry?	p. 85
Alzheimer's Disease: The Brain Killer	p. 87
What Is Alzheimer's Disease?	p. 88
Chasing the Cause	p. 91
Anxiety and Alzheimer's Disease: Another Reason to Chill	p. 94
Maybe It's Bad Neural Housekeeping?	p. 97
The Search for a Cure-or Even a Treatment That Works	p. 100
Looking Beyond the Brain	p. 104
An Ounce of Prevention: Marijuana Might Benefit Aging Brains	p. 106
The Future-Without Alzheimer's Disease	p. 109
How to Optimize Your Aging Brain	p. 111
The Big Five for Optimal Brain Function	p. 113
The Cognitive Shop	p. 116
How to Keep Your Brain Healthy and Nimble	p. 119
Exercise Your Body: Move Your Body for a Better Brain	p. 123
This Brain Was Made for Walking	p. 126
It's Never Too Late to Start Exercising	p. 127
A Fine Balance: Yoga, Tai Chi, and Fall Prevention	p. 131
Challenge Your Brain	p. 135
Educated Brains Stay Better Longer	p. 137
Why Testing Boosts Learning	p. 138
Do Brain Fitness Products Work?	p. 139
Computer Training May Keep You Driving Longer	p. 143
The Bottom Line	p. 144
Nutrition: Fuel for Thought	p. 147
Glucose Is Not So Sweet to the Brain	p. 151
Forget the Fructose	p. 152
Omega-3, the Essential Oil	p. 154
Your Brain on Berries, Chocolate, and Wine: The Flavonoid Connection	p. 155
Caffeine: A Perk for Your Brain	p. 162
Is There a Pill for That? Supplements and Vitamins	p. 163
The Social Treatment	p. 167
You've Got a Friend, We Hope	p. 169
Talk to Teens, Live Longer	p. 171
Finding and Making Friends in Later Life	p. 173
Creativity, Spirit, and Attitude: Enrich Thyself	p. 175
The Art of an Active Brain	p. 176
Live Larger to Live Better	p. 178
The Power of Meditation for the Aging Brain	p. 178
Smile! It Could Make You Happier	p. 181
Attitudes Matter: The Optimism Factor	p. 182
The Future for Your Brain	p. 185
Predictions, Promises, and Possibilities	p. 187
A Fix to Reverse Memory Decline	p. 190
Are You Saving for Those Final Years?	p. 191
RX for This Good Life	p. 193
Living in the Now	p. 195
Living with an Aging Brain	p. 196
How We (Eventually) Die	p. 197
Going Out with a Bang: The Brain Surges Just Before Death	p. 199
Living in the Now	p. 200
Sources	p. 203
Illustration Credits	p. 219
Glossary	p. 221
Resources for Aging and Coping	p. 231
About the Author	p. 235
Index	p. 237
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