The Wisdom of the Ages By Dr. Evelyn Higgins

While you might be concerned that you may have the beginnings of the dreaded Alzheimer's Disease when you couldn't remember a name or address, for example, a new work published by Harvard research psychologist Shelley Carson tells us that for most of the adults 65 years of age and older, the thought that our brain power is declining is not always the case. While 13 percent of Americans 65 and older have Alzheimer's Disease, the healthy 87 percent of the brains are actually taking more time to sift through the mounting data and then combine that with the vast storage of knowledge. The research has shown that the prefrontal cortex of the brain has decreased activity. This also allows for a broader attention span and the brain has the ability to assimilate data and put it in its proper place. That certainly is a great deal of work... no wonder it takes a moment! The elder brain takes longer to absorb the information but then is better adept at understanding the data with all the qualities I spoke of such as experience, discretion, and then the capacity to utilize the newfound information with understanding. That I believe is a key link, combining the data and understanding it collectively. Research has also shown that people with an injury or disease to the prefrontal cortex of the brain had the ability to pursue new creative interests. Very interesting as that may be why we can see our parents or our aging friends and neighbors become new people with new hobbies and interests that we never knew they had an interest in before. So while the elusive term wisdom has been so sought after and revered by all of mankind from the beginning of time we may finally have put together the pieces of how and why it all works. Now that really is wisdom! [more on Dr. Higgins...]