Brain Activity Shifts As We Age

The Wisdom of the Aging Brain

Tantalizing evidence suggests that brain activity shifts to increase wisdom as we age

Anil Ananthaswamy | May 12, 2016

At the 2010 Cannes Film Festival premiere of You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger, director Woody Allen was asked about aging. He replied with his characteristic, straight-faced pessimism. “I find it a lousy deal. There is no advantage in getting older. I’m 74 now. You don’t get smarter, you don’t get wiser ... Your back hurts more, you get more indigestion ... It’s a bad business, getting old. I’d advise you not to do it if you can avoid it.”
Creaking bones and bad digestion notwithstanding, is that really the only face of aging? Turns out, it’s not. At least for the fortunate few, old age may not be Woody Allenesque; instead old age is when they become compassionate and wise. Yes, wise.

Source: http://brainsciencepodcast.com/bsp/the-wisdom-of-the-aging-brain-bsp-17.html

<more at http://nautil.us/issue/36/aging/the-wisdom-of-the-aging-brain; related articles and links: https://medium.com/synapse/a-brain-full-of-wisdom-b71e428ab193#.i6ayg0r2e (A brain full of wisdom. Rethinking the aging brain. January 30, 2014) and http://www.dana.org/Cerebrum/2015/Cognitive_Skills_and_the_Aging_Brain__What_to_Expect/ (Cognitive Skills and the Aging Brain: What to Expect. December 1, 2015)>