Brain Activity in Old Age Medicine Assignment Paper (Essay Sample)

Brain Activity in Old Age
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Brain Activity in Old Age
Introduction
Over the years, aging has been observed to cause changes in both the brain anatomy and physiology. As a person ages, the brain becomes smaller and shrinks in size; vasculature supplying the brain becomes affected. The morphology of the brain molecules also changes, and the function of the neurotransmitters and the levels of the hormones in the brain become impaired (Garaschuk, 2017). These transformations are often evidenced by increased incidences of certain age-related disorders such as dementia and growing risks of stroke in the old people. The rates of such disorders are not uniform in the populations since certain protective factors counteract the changes that take place in the brain. Such activities as exercise and healthy dietary habits reduce risks associated with old age. The changes that take place in the brain also affect the memory activity. This paper studies the changes in brain activity that take place in old age during the memory processing.
Brain Changes with Age
Changes that take place in the brain in old age are facilitated by multiple factors. The effects that happen in the brain function are tied to the certain morphological and molecular changes that are caused by the aging process. The changes in the brain vasculature increase the risk of ischemia in the elderly and stimulate the lesions that take place in the white matter. Lesions in the white matter precipitate changes in brain activity. A set of simultaneous brain changes affects its functions and ability to process memories.
Genetics also plays a part in the changes in the brain activities of aging people. It has been proven that there is a genetic predisposition to brain disorders such as dementia. Changes in the levels of the neurotransmitters in the brain also affect brain activity (Garaschuk, 2017). The hormone levels change in old age, thereby contributing to brain functioning transformation. The insufficient brain activation leads to memory decline with age and an apparent decrease in the fluidity of memory tasks due to the decreased recruitment of the neurotransmitter effects and the hormonal influences that are associated with normal brain activity (Garaschuk, 2017). Therefore, the changes in brain activity are precipitated by a host of interconnected factors.
The neurotransmitters that are most closely tied to the aging process in the brain are dopamine andserotonin. The dopamine levels have been found to decrease by about 10%, which initiates resulting changes in cognitive functions and motor activity (Johnson, 2010). The performance of the individual becomes hampered as the decline in the dopamine levels deteriorate. The decrease in the dopaminergic activity is not only linked to the levels of dopamine in the brain but also to the reduction of synapses and receptors that bind dopamine in the brain. The decline in the dopaminergic pathways that connect the striatum and the frontal cortex are affected and this precipitates cognitive impairments. The serotonin levels also decrease with age and this is implicated in the changes in the regulatory mechanisms of the neurogenesis of the elderly brain. Such transformations result in brain activity dysregulation which affects the formation of the memories by an individual.
Using neuroimaging techniques, psychologists have established that the decline in brain activity in old age is not uniform. The recent studies have refuted that there must be the same level of decline of brain activity across the board and have developed a model that defines the specific rates of mental decline in old age (Tatti, Rossi, Innocenti, Rossi & Santarnecchi, 2016). This model shows that the changes in brain activity are very multifaceted and vary widely in the different individuals. An observation has also been made that the rate of these changes is reflective of the youthful activities of the individual. Corresponding evidence points to the fact that the elderly sensitivities have correlated particularly to the individual (Garaschuk, 2017). Hence, the rates of mental and cognitive changes vary and memory processing functions retention also depends on individual predisposition.
Changes in Memory Activity
Most common brain activities that are affected by age include memory and attention. The age-related changes in attention and memory are not uniform, but a consistent pattern of decline is observed in the cognition associated with these brain activities. The loss in the attention span and perceptive abilities of the individual is attributable to a great degree to the significant age-related loss of sensorial capacity (Tatti et al. 2016). Deficits in the sensory capacities translate to deficits in the processing stream of the information which is marked by a decline in attendance. The fundamental impairment of this cognitive awareness results in failure to perform certain complex tasks related to the memory and recall and failure to sustain protracted attentive skills. The impact on memory follows rapidly, which is widespread and more notable, and forms up the bulk of the considerable evidence that points to brain changes in old age. Therefore, memory loss is usually an early marker of age-related cognitive impairment.
Memory function as a cognitive activity can be categorized into several sections. Memory can be divided into episodic, semantic, procedural, and working memory. The first modality of episodic memory is more important when it comes to age-related changes in brain activity. This refers to memory formation where the image is stored with a mental tag to the memory attached to it with respect to the circumstances in which the memory was formed. Episodic memory majorly deals with experiences formed by an individual in the past. For example, an important meeting that an individual attended last year may form an episodic memory. This section of memory is distinctly a human trait and is accounted as the most developed type of memories, and it is also the most highly susceptible to changes when the brain is damaged or in old age. Analysis of the different sections of me...