Laugh lines, a few grey hairs and those hardto-lose pounds - along with a frustrating inability to recall names or what you did last Tuesday - are all signs of middle age.
And while memory problems may seem inevitable, new research shows that the middle-age brain still has a few surprises of its own. We asked Barbara Strauch, the New York Times' deputy science editor and author of the Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain (Penguin), to explain.
WHAT CAUSES MEMORY LOSS?
The processing speed in our brains slows down from our 20s onward, we can lose some neurotransmitters and get distracted more easily. The truth is, by midlife, most of our brains show some fraying around the edges, and names are often the first edge to go ragged. The names are not technically gone.
Research into the cellular activity of where most memories are processed indicates that much of what we learn in the form of chemical markers is not missing, it's just at the bottom of the pile.
For the most part, it's a problem of retrieval, not storage.
If you forget your husband's boss's name is Ed, it might be embarrassing at an office party. But it's not Alzheimer's.
SO MEMORY LOSS IS NOT DUE TO DYING BRAIN CELLS?
They used to think that we lost 30 per cent of our brain cells. Now, in counting them, they found we don't lose them.
There are recent findings, too, that show how the middle-aged brain, rather than giving up and giving in, adapts. As we age, our brains power up, not down, to solve problems.
HOW DOES THE MIDDLE AGE BRAIN "POWER UP?"
As researchers at Duke University and elsewhere have found, people in middle age begin to use two sides of their brains instead of one - a trick called bilateralization. As we age, the two sides of our brains become more intertwined, letting us see bigger patterns, have bigger thoughts.
Those who recruit the strength of their brains' powerful frontal cortex, in particular, develop what scientists call 'cognitive reserve,' thought to be a buffer against the effects of aging.
DOES BILATERALIZATION OCCUR IN ALL AGING BRAINS?
It's not the weakest brains that do this but the most robust ones.
A series of recent studies has found that it is the most capable who resort to this trick. It's as if the best and the brightest older brains simply refuse to give in.
Cheryl Grady at the University of Toronto recently found it was those adults with the most education who tapped into this premier brain region.
