Title: Brain function can start 'as early as age 45'

By: BBC

Published: 6 January, 2012 Accessed: 7 January, 2012

Researchers in the United Kingdom have found out that the brain's ability to function can start decreasing as early as 45 years of age. Before it was believed that the brain functions properly till the age of 60, however, this new studies has proved the old one wrong. The things assessed during the experiments were memory, vocabulary, and comprehension with among 7,000 women and men of different age. Except the vocabulary, everything else seemed to decrease especially in the elders. The researchers did keep in mind the age variation that they were examining. After getting their results, the researchers such as Professor Archana Singh-Manoux are looking at ways to prevent cognitive. He says there we can definitely prevent cognitive from taking place to some extent. Life choices such as smoking and drinking do affect the brain, and we need to make people aware that there are consequences for the choices they make. Other experts want to carry out this experiment in larger population so that they can be sure how dangerous dementia can be after a certain age.

Knowing that eventually I will start becoming old, and my brain will not be able to function properly is scary. This vacation I am living with a old women who has had a brain operation which has played a role in her behavior. At times she forgets what she is saying in the middle of the sentence. She doesn't know if it is day or night unless someone tells her. She doesn't remember if she has eaten her meal, which causes her to ask for another meal. All this frustrated the maids who don't know what to do other than complain. Having a functional brain is something I would like to have for the rest of my life. I cannot imagine my self not being able to recognize the people I love, or the places I visited. If experts are able to find out a way in which to prevent the brain from deteriorating, I would be very glad. However, there still lies one question how many people will be able to afford such medication?

Vocab

Deteriorate

The brain's ability to function can start to deteriorate as early as 45

to make or become worse in quality or value

Origin: latin word deterior which means to worsen

At a high point in her career she began to deteriorate because of the personal choices she made.

Dementia

because dementia treatments are more likely to work at the time when individuals start to experience mental impairment.

Severe impairment or loss of intellectual capacity and personality integration

Origin: Latin Dementia which means madness.

The treatments for patients who face dementia are so costly that hardly any one can afford them.

Cognitive

The UCL researchers tested the cognitive functions of 5,198 men and 2,192 women aged 45 to 7

pertaining to the mental process of perception

Origin: Latin Cognitivus

The research party was out to deal with cognitive damages and find a cure for it.