THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

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HEAGINGBRAINis subjecttoa dreary litany of changes. Itshrinks, Swiss cheese- likeh?leS;grow,co~necdons 'be-tween ' neuTolllS becOlp~

..•••sp.arser1l)10?dflowanq oxygen supply'ifall. Thlltleads to trouble with short- .

: ••·.tertpmel11oryandrapidlyswitchingat-.tention,llmong other problems. And

".tl1.at'~ina;healthy brain..13ufit's'riotall doom-and gloom. An

emerging body of research shows that";asurprisingarray ofmental functions

hold up well into old age,while othersactually getbetter, Vocabulary im-

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proves; as do other verbal abilitiessuch as facility with synonymsand

antonyms. Older brains are packedwith more so-called expert knowl-

. edge""":-infor1nationrelevant to.vour.occupationor hobby. (Olderbric.igethusiasts have at .their mentaibeck ..and-callfnany more bids and re-s.....p.on..s.es ..) T. h.'.ey.also. store .. m.·.··.• b.r.··.<.e.·.·.tic.·•.O. ig...n..·.·.l.·.·~ ..

tive:templates,"or mental outlinesdf,generic problems and·soiutioD.§thatcan be tapped when.confronting newproblems.

Eric Kandel; 77 years old, whoshared the 2000 NobelPriz~in medi-cine, maintains an active lab at Colum-bia.University and .mentors youngerscientists. "1think I do science better

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Continued from page Wi.. the mandatory retirement age for com-thanI did when I was younger," he mercialpilots; which is currently 60.says. "Inscience.judgment is so impor- The emerging neuroscience is on'tant, and I now have a better under- their side. One of the most robust cog-standing of which problems are impor- nitive abilities is semantic memory,tant and which aren't." which is recollection of facts-and fig-

Growing awareness that old brains ures.: "Semantic memory is relativelyaren't necessarily senile brains is al- resistant to the effects of aging," saysreadyfueling a slew of consumer offer- psychology professor Arthur Kramerings. Brain exercises developed for of the University ofIllinois, Urbana-olderadults by Posit Science Corp. in Champaign. Semantic memory in-

, San Francisco are being offered by re- dudes vocabulary, which increasestirement communities, senior centers with age so reliably (at leastin peopleand assisted-living facilities, as well as who continue reading) that a youngerby insurers such as Humana totheir person should never challenge a sharpMedicare enrollees. The computer- 75-year-old to a crossword puzzle.based program includes exercises in- Expert knowledge-information

. tended to improve memory and atten- about an occupational or evenhobby-tion, as well as sharpness of hearing. ist specialty-resists the effects of ag-Continuing, peer-reviewed studies ing, too, which is why mumbling "ac-conducted by Posit scientists suggest crued postretirement liabilities". to anitcan roll backthe mental agilitycalen- 80-year-old actuary makes 'his rele-

, dar by atleastadecade. vant synapses fireas robustly as theySome retirement communities' and did at age 40. Synapses that encode ex-

assisted-living centers are installing a pert knowledge "are written in stone,"touch-screen-based cognitive. fitness. says neuroscientist John Morrison ofprogram developed by Dakim Inc e , of.' th~Mount Sinai School of Medicine inSanta-Monica.Calif., that gives seniors NewYork.practice on seven cognitive skills, in" The longevity of expert knowledgeeluding languageand the kind ofvismil- and cognitive templates lies behindspatialprocessmg.that helps you read a the finding that air-traffic controllersmap; The .svstem uses "age-appropri- in their 60s are at least as skilled asate"film and. audio clips, such as . those in their 308. Wh~n Prof. KramerJimmy.Stewart-movies, asthe basis for of lllinois and a colleague at the Massa-short-termrnemory exercisesandaddschusetts Institute of Technology gavenew exercises every 24 to 48 hOUl'S. older controllers standard.labtestsfor

.. ..... reaction speed, memory, attentionChangmg Public Polley arid the like, they found the usual: Per-

Discoveries of brain functions that formance declined' compared withhold up, or even improve, through the that of 30-somethings.decades could affect corporate and pub- But on more fast-paced, complex-lic policy. As baby boomers age, many and hence realistic=tests in whichare rcaisting mandatoryretirement. In they juggled multiple airliners andJanuary, a special committee of the handled emergencies, the senior con-NewYork State Bar Associationrecom- trollers did as well as or better thanmended that law firms abandon the the young ones. They kept simulatedpractice. Air-traffic controllers are ask- planes safely away from each other,ing federal agencies to reconsider the and when they ordered planes torequirement thatthey retire at age 55, change their altitude, heading orand the Federal Aviation Administra- speed to avoid a collision, they usedtion in January proposed pushing back fewer commands than younger ones.

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It was as if theirexperielw~h.qd,· up even with a diminished supply of it'lentifyllgy\rhkh'rilerttal functionsequipped them wifhfhemostefficient blood andoXygEm... ." ". are largely'i1rit6uclledbyaging, theyalgorithm for keepingt1~e: planes .'.•... .: .. willbeable torlevelpp treatments or

..S~f:~h~f:~~~~riencJarid;:~1iI~~~~1~L •••"pr~e:i~~:~~~~~~!~~essi~~aiscan •...••..~~~~~~f.~i~;~~~!r?IHunctions.that·do.·edge of aircraft types. and:sttiiteiies" . reaaily.separ~i:te;what'simpQi:til.ni: /J Tlieberi~fitsthiitcome to the mindthey've i1sedforyEmiscaIj liowp~~~at~,.-;from:whati~,ri:ot/aJ)igx!!~son so'many' an~braiIJ:Wi.thagee~end beyond think-fora 'decline in these otherabilitie-s/\. o~them fire on aU,coirlitive cylinders: ' 'li1g.They,also include a greater ability.Sll-YSPt(,f.Kramer.who has submitted, well past-age 6~i:;'i'd~say,~iliatthe~aliil~ '" to' pu~ yourself. i~ ,another person'sthes;udytoasciencejollmiltThefj,nd-' 'fty~to make a significant:contributio~; .."mmd,.~pathizing.~d understandingings, he.says. Sl!gge~thel1ee~,~9ieYi:sit"..•.a,s,',a.lli~er'lle~alfy, ~riCieaseS'witn<."J1is'~M~gbtproce:sse~.-'-elllotionalwis-"the whole notion;ofWh~n'we need;to'. %eJexpeiten"ce~d·age." says,~tt6r~ ·dOIIi.;Giyil;engihe~i~Sam.ue1Florman,

, .retlre people, since~th~ir,~bili&.t~;ab}. Jt~y MarkZauderer;: ·60.a;parlri~rin 81.rein,arn'Sact1Ve;mhisStar~dale,N.Y.•-these;¢omplexJasks'resists;decline~:· the New York law 'firm Flemining Zu- construction company and says that as.'. , '.Thaf60-sometitfugs:;car{irienf.aIly'.':lackWilliamson;Zauderer ....i.: , ... ..' ~~JiI~haSgrov.n:older. he "has gotten bet-, f~giW;·multipt.ei~7;1::Zs'seenl~'tg.~;g~r··.·?<.In.coni:plex:busihe~~,'litigatjon;lle-';Jifr:withpeppleimdreundets11mdingof;,,~gainsHberd.eatl1a,t.aginghUrt$.ithe ;.,.says,;·where. pretrial ;'dis,covery 'can' .'.. youngpeople andmore patient withag-· abiUfy,;;topay:cattMiion;Rut :st~iUe.s:.yieldenough documeritsto'fU1awar~~ ..•.•••'gressive one~.Tm more. saVvyaboutsl}Qwfhats~l«tritii~t~tteJ,ltio!lj:~lie~9jJ.~)0~':119\lse~~'alawyer mustQe:·~ple',t(>,:sQit·"i'when·to rush all~twhelJnot to.".iW to focus-'on'sQnuii:hing:a:nqJ<iesi'sL ;:tne wheat from-the-chaff to'tlThe an ,." .: <': .(U~P.·~ctions;doeliWf(le9Iri~:W~h.~g~\: ....1:~§SESf.act~a~d extract QnlY.lli.9:>~tMt ·ii~on~~l~~::~per. .,. ..... .·l"oreontrollers;thatmea.ps:tn~Y'c:m:fO~;~ut>p,ortWInmngtl1eme$;AseIlJ,or1aw .....·.•-••••••.•ThCltlikelyreflectstheolderbram·s1:*1;. priplanE;s in th¢ir$fl~tQn4~~Pj'(e'.ay·;::y~r·!~.Jn:the.j)est positiori·to:dothat;;:,~re;l~e(Cpl).trol overemotions.espe-h~bJ:>uP.of actiyity··'in.tljii:\PoritJ:oF""~ilfltohClye the'courage.'tQais(l~d;i)i3JlY ·negatiye.ones· such asimpa-tower~ ror other semen's; it.meansrio·.:Jacts'ifey¢l). thbseori your side:--tha;t;tiericeand:~riger.A 2006 study of 250prdblemkeepingeyes and mind. on a,; .WillnpIyd\stract the coW'torthejWw'~{'.peoPle .ranging in '.age' from adoles-highway despite flashing road signs 01; ,"'.. ••.• . . ...., . . .'cence to theirlate 70sdocmnented forrioi~ypassengers, . . '.. . ';!{oj> ::~.. . . , ,c.' "'. theftrst time "positjvecha~ges inthe.:.'.'Th~ biggest benefit. of. an' older' .In one study~ air traffic e~otionalbr~ri."·as~ordingt9theSo-brain.is.thatfewerreal-Iife challenges . . .' " . , . 0 f1e~yforI\l~Urosclence.y.rhl(:h pub-require deliberate; effoi;tfuliJroblem~ controllers tn, their 6 s .lishes the Journal of Neuroscience. Insplyhlg.Where'imceittool,< hours-of- uieremore efficient than . 'the experiment, Leanne Williams ofmethodtcalscnitiny to understand a '. ..... .' ...,. the University of Sydney showed thePl'ospC:{c;tus;fdi·instance, older Iaw- those ui their 30s. volunteers J)ictUres of faces express-Yel;5.'·i;Uldinvestment-bankers can ingemofions, Using fMRIbraiIiimag-zoom in oncrucialsections and fit , ing, It was found that circuits 4t "me-them dnto whattl;ley already know.' ., ."Some things yOUjust need togfind . dial prefrontal" areas= rightbehind. '.. Elk}lOIlOnGold,berg.aneuropsychol- into your system.tormany yeai'suntilthe forehead+were more active in<:igisf,whohas a j)livate practice and is. they become automatic arid seemingly .older people .than younger 'peoplea, prQfessor.,at:rqew York University effortless," says Naftalikaz ofthe Insti- when, processing negative emotionalSchool of Medicine.finds that .he can' Jute ofGerontologyatWilY,lle State Uni- expressions. 'I'lie greateractivitysug-also grasp the essence of data pre- versity in Detroit. "That maybe the key. gests better control ofreactions to

·sentedJn scieritiflc •.papers more .. ',A:tltomaticfunctions are least sensitive other people'sanger; feat and the like.readily than he once could-something ..'to aging. So. if the decisions are based This greater sensitivity seems to trans- .that more than.makesup foi: lossesin ·ortknoWledgeand skill, older folks may late.iIlto decreasingneurotlctsm, andother mental realms, "I am not nearly have an advantage overyounger. deci- greater emotional equanimity ..'asgoodatlaborious;gririding. focused, . siori makers just because they have to .' That doesn'tmeanQlderbi'ainsflat~,menta! eomputations.vhe says. "but do less mental heavy lifting:' '. .lil1~when it comes to .sensitivity: In-.~hen··again. 1 donotexpelience the .' .More resea1"cl:Ijscou1ing.AlthOugh;'~teacirthElYoften show a keen emo-'iie~4i:oresort tothem nearly as often.": studies on aging have long focusedon ...•.tioniilJn.teUigericeand~biIityto judge.'While youngerbrains solv;e prob- diseases such •asAlzheirner's.sciell,':. jSlfllr~ct~i;:E:l(ierl}' volunteers giyen, a

l~msstep-by.step,.olderbrains call on, tists are increasingly investigating' ":listof:hehavibrs.· thatc.lgscril)e· acognitive templates. those generic out- healthy aging, trying to discover •. <jnade-uppers.oriignori'idirreIevarit in-lines' of.a problemand a solution that ' lNhichfactors allowsome.people to.re- ·..•.formatioii· (favorite c6lor.place ()f:w.or1(edbefor~;It·sthefeelingyou get 'sist the usualravages of ti}Tle,andtocbir.th) whgnas'k,ed:tqjudgethe per-)Nhenyou see that a new situation or get a better sense of how well oi.derson·stharacterandfocusedonreveal-:prO:blembelongs to a Class of situa+ vadultscan function. TheNationalI.nsti~iiJi;traitS'b~ttet than YOw1gerpeopie"~i:onsorproblel1'lsyouhaveencoun~ 'tutes of Health. the nation's lea.airig<a1d;at-cbrdiilgto,:reseirrdhbyThonlas):ei:ed before, Withtherestiltihat you' 'funder of biomedical research. doesn't"'}jessja:professt;ir'o{ps-ychoiogyati:lonit have to ·attaCk them methodi-. .break out "healthy aging? asasepii~NorlhCarolinaStiifeUitiveJ'sitY.They

. cally. ,Yes. older-people forget little rate budget item. but spokeswornihi"(wenf)fioreiikelytbinfercori:ectifthat.thing~; and mayhave oceasional atten- . LindaJoy says that more funding is go:: "tbepersonwas iiishoriest,kindorinteI-. lion Iapses.but their cognitive tel11-ing to studies of people who reach' Iigent-saskill that is arguablyrnore im-platescu:e so rich.that they more than' their 60s, 70s and beyond with little or portantthan the ability to memorize a

i'hold~thelrown. Theirbrains can.keep no disease. Scientists. hope that by list of words in a lab experiment.

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Mind· GamesA number of companies have recently introduced brain exercises meant tostop or even reverse, the mental decline that comes with norma! aging. Fewhave undergone rigorous testing to measure-their effectiveness, butscientists agree that they do at least:target abilities, such as short-termmemory and attention, that tend to getworsewith age. Here are eightexamples of those exercises:' .

Adapted from Dakim Ine.:1. If you get 120 Japanese yen for .au.s. dollar, and aeuro is worth $1.25US., how many yen do you get for20 euros? ' ,. .A. 300 yen B. 3,000 yen C. 500 yenD. 5,000 yen ','

2 •.40 subtracted from the square ofths number isa perfect square.Whatis the number? 'A. 5 B. 7 C. 8 0;9

3. Each of the following nonsense,words can be. turned into a commontwo-word phrase by dividi'ng theword in two and adding the sameletter at the beginning of each. Forexample, "obtory" becomes "sob .story." . ,A. readasket B. encilusher C; ofthoeD.oonsense

4.Whlch of the following is NOT adefinition of this word: weigh, .'A. The watery part of milk separatedfrom the curd.B. To have importance orconsequence.','C•.To raise an anchor. •

.'O. To.bear down as cl burqeri

5. Find the word that can be usedto fill both blanks+one using theentire word, and the other using justa portion of the word: She told memy painting of the gods standing

watch over Scranton was.~not realizing I had only painted it in

A. inspiring B. breathtakingC. majestic 0: wonderful

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Timed exereses from Nintendo ,Brain Age: '

.6. Take two minutes to memorize. this list of 30 words. Then write.downas many asyou can '

'remember. .talk city ween jaws fans limetail face town claw mule hair .heat card girl this nail tailroof wait poof tags inch heapzoom hold band hump card dead

7. Count the number of syllables. inthe followil1g sentence as quickly aspossible: The proof of the pudding isin the ~ating,

Answer key:L B 2.B .3. bread bas-,ket, pencil pusher, soft shoe, no-nonsense 4. A 5. C 6; The more,the better. 7.11 8. 2 hours, 20minutes

The Upside of Aging.......,-~~~