Like any other organ in the body, the brain also grows older and there are modifications that may explain why some cognitive abilities, such as memory, also deteriorate.
However, scientists have observed that, while cognitively declining is common, other abilities such as emotional ones could remain relatively stable. This observation makes us question whether the entire brain ages equally or there are areas or systems that stay young for longer.
This question has been attempted by Peter S. Pressman and other collaborators at the Memory and Aging Center at the University of California. In his study, a total of 258 people between 60 and 100 years old participated, without memory complaints, or problems in their daily activities and with a general cognitive evaluation in normal ranges (measured with the result in a test called Mini-Mental State Evaluation , which should be equal to or greater than 26 points out of 30). All individuals underwent neuropsychological evaluations, neurological examinations, and a brain MRI. Of the total group, a subgroup of 84 participants were reassessed at a later time and two to three new resonances were performed to be able to assess the changes in certain areas of the brain.
The chosen areas were divided into emotional (eg the amygdala, the insula or the orbitofrontal cortex) and cognitive (parietal lobe, lateral temporal area, medial temporal…). Statistical analyzes of the scanners of these 84 patients showed that, in general, no differences were observed in the rate at which the cognitive and emotional areas changed over time . A more detailed study carried out area by area showed, instead, that the anterior cingulate cortex remained relatively more preserved , as well as a greater loss of volume in a structure called the nucleus accumbens. The anterior cingulate cortex has been linked in other studies to the effect of positivity in older people, which is the tendency to pay attention to positive stimuli such as happy facial expressions, words, or pictures .
These data, recently published in the journal PLoS ONE (2016), encourage us to consider other dilemmas, such as whether there is any possibility of stimulating the brain areas that deteriorate the most to prevent their decline , or whether the emotional areas can be trained in the same way as the cognitive ones, all with the intention of maintaining good mental and emotional functioning for as long as possible. Perhaps other studies will shed light on these questions, but for now, we will have to wait.
Marisa Fernández Sánchez, Senior Neuropsychologist, Unobrain
