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Your Brain: Capabilities, Changes, Challenges, and Care

Cover Image by storyset on Freepik

Introduction

The brain is one of the few organs in the human body that is constantly active and working hard, whether we are conscious of this or not. Even now, your brain allows you to read and process the words on the screen. Take a moment to read what exactly your brain is capable of, how some actions or substances harm the brain, and behaviors that help keep the brain a healthy organ.


The Brain & Its Functions

At around three pounds and made up of over fifty percent fat, the brain is the intricate organ that controls all of the body's functions. It consists of the brainstem, the cerebellum, and the cerebrum, with the cerebrum being further divided into different sections called lobes. The lobes of the cerebrum are the frontal lobe, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, and occipital lobe. Each portion of the brain is highly associated with key functions.

  • Frontal Lobe (cerebrum): located in the front portion of the brain; is associated with personality, motor skills, judgment, planning, etc.

  • Temporal Lobe (cerebrum): located to the sides of the brain; is involved in short-term memory, speech, hearing, etc.

  • Parietal Lobe (cerebrum): located between the frontal and occipital lobes; is associated with spatial & visual perception and sense of touch

  • Occipital Lobe (cerebrum): located in the very back of the brain and is associated with vision

  • Cerebellum: located under the occipital lobe; is involved with fine motor skills, balance & coordination, and visual perception.

  • Brain stem: connects the brain to the spinal cord and is divided into the midbrain, pons, and medulla regions; is involved in breathing, consciousness, heart rate, and circadian rhythm.

The brain works in conjunction with the spinal cord and nerves throughout the body to send messages and carry out specific functions. Messages are transmitted through chemical and electric signals. While some messages may be localized to the brain, using nerves allows messages to be sent to more distant parts of the body. [1,2]


Impact of Aging

Like other parts of the body, the brain changes as people age. When you are young, your brain can easily form upwards of a million new synaptic connections. And by the time you reach age 6, your brain is just shy of being adult-sized, reaching 90% of the volume typical in adults. It isn't until about middle age that the brain begins to feel the impacts of growing older. It is during this time that the brain actually begins to shrink, with the rate of brain shrinkage increasing around age 60. In addition, brain flow to the brain may decrease while inflammation increases.


Aging causes the neurons in the brain to degrade and eventually die. As a result, amyloid beta is produced by cells. This is a misfolded protein, or a prion, that is often associated with Alzheimer's disease. It can cause the build-up of amyloid beta plaque on the neurons in the brain, which causes the typical symptoms of the condition. It is possible for there to be signs of plaque in the brain in the absence of prions; in this scenario, it can merely be a sign of typical aging.


These physical changes result in a decline in memory recall, attention span, and multitasking capabilities. There also tends to be an impact on cognitive ability. However, other aspects of the mind tend to improve with age, such as verbal abilities and abstract thinking. While these changes in an aging brain are inevitable, studies have found that older individuals are still capable of learning new skills and forming new memories given ample time. [3,4]


Negative Influences on Brain Health

There are several behaviors and toxic substances that have been found to negatively impact the brain. For instance, sitting for extended periods, low socialization, lack of sleep, and chronic stress have been attributed to harming brain health, each in different ways. Low socialization is associated with depression and is a risk for Alzheimer's disease, in addition to having the potential to accelerate cognitive decline. Lack of sleep has also been associated with interfering cognitive state. Chronically high levels of stress have been observed to cause the death of brain cells and shrink an area of the brain called the prefrontal cortex. This portion of the brain is attributed to memory and the ability to learn, so chronic stress can induce effects similar to an aging mind.


Environmental substances, such as cigarette smoke and air pollution, also adversely contribute to brain health. An air pollutant known as PM2.5 is a fine particulate that is capable of integrating into the brain after entering the bloodstream. It is capable of causing damage to the brain and its blood vessels and has the potential to jump-start tumor formations. Similarly, cigarette smoke can cause structural damage and interfere with typical chemical balances within the brain. Both of these factors aid in further deteriorating brain health and neurocognitive disorders. [5,6]


Actions to Maintain a Healthy Mind

Taking all these factors into consideration, it is important to adopt habits and behaviors that help maintain brain health. This will help you maintain cognitive function and reduce the risk of neurodegenerative diseases, such as dementia and Alzheimer's disease, as you get older. Below is a list of actions you incorporate to achieve this!

  • Consume healthy food, focusing on food such as leafy greens, beans, whole grains, fish, and poultry while limiting how much red meat, fast food, and other highly processed food you eat.

  • Try to aim for 7 to 8 hours of quality sleep a night. Avoiding caffeine, alcohol, and technology in the hours before bed has been shown to help with sleep quality.

  • Be physically active! In addition to improving brain function, it helps improve mood and overall health.

  • Keep an engaged mind. Learning and engaging in challenging tasks has been shown to prevent the brain from shrinking, which helps maintain and improve cognitive function.

  • Establish a social network. Being social and connecting with others has been shown to improve both memory and mood.

  • Keep a healthy heart, as a healthy heart also translates to a healthy brain. [7]



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