THE SECRET LIFE OF THE GROWN-UP BRAIN --- THE SURPRISING TALENTS
OF THE MIDDLE-AGED MIND by Barbara Strauch. Viking, 2010
OUTLINE OF BOOK'S FACTS & IDEAS INTRODUCTION — The changing landscape of middle age (xiii-xxv)
What at, at the beginning of the 21st century, does it mean to be "middle-aged? And what does it mean for your brain? This book is an attempt to answer that question. (xvii) For most of human history, middle age has been largely ignored. Birth, youth, old age, and death have all been given their due. But middle age has not only been neglected, it has not even been considered a distinct entity! (xii)
PART 1 — THE POWERS THAT BE (1-53)
For most of human history, such neglect made perfect sense since lives were brutal and brief. There was no time for a "middle age" during your lifespan. Now, with average lifespans stretching out to about 78 years, there is a long expanse of time for middle age. (xii)
But one aspect of middle age has remained neglected --- our brains! (xiii-xiv)
However, even as science began to pay attention to what was happening to our bodies and our lives in the middle years, it did not think about what was taking place inside our heads. The prevailing view was that a brain during midlife was, if anything, simply a young brain slowly closing down. (xiv)
Now that has changed, too! With new tools such as brain scanners, genetic analysis, and more sophisticated long-term studies, the middle-aged brain is finally getting its proper due. Much of the new attention, to be honest, is driven by fear. Many of us --- and many scientists themselves --- have watched parents suffer the devastations of dementia. We are frightened [when we begin to forget things we usually could remember easily when we were younger]! (xiv)
At middle age, we know that we are different. We know that our brains are different. What has happened? Where have our minds gone? From a neuroscience perspective, are we all --- bit by bit --- losing our minds? (xvi)
1) AM I LOSING MY MIND? — Sometimes, but the gains beat the losses (3-11)
PART 2 — THE INNER WORKINGS (67-122)
2) THE BEST BRAINS OF OUR LIVES — A bit slower, but so much better (12-27)
3) A BRIGHTER PLACE — I'm so glad I'm not young anymore (28-40)
4) EXPERIENCE, JUDGMENT, WISDOM — Do we really know what we're talking about? (41-53)
5) THE MIDDLE IN MOTION — The midlife crisis conspiracy (54-66)
6) WHAT CHANGES WITH TIME — Glitches the brain learns to deal with (69-90)
PART 3 — HEALTHIER BRAINS (123-190)
7) TWO BRAINS ARE BETTER THAN ONE — Especially inside one head (91-103)
8) EXTRA BRAINPOWER — A reservoir to tap when needed (104-122)
9) KEEP MOVING AND KEEP YOUR WITS (125-143)
EPILOGUE — A new place for better, longer lives (191-198)
10) FOOD FOR THOUGHT — And a few other substances, as well (144-169)
11) THE BRAIN GYM — Toning up your circuits (170-190)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (199-200)
SOURCES (201-220)
INDEX (221-229)
BOOK'S DESCRIPTION & REVIEWS
SUMMARY = For many years, scientists thought that the human brain simply decayed over time. But new research suggests that the brain can improve. Strauch explores the latest findings that demonstrate how the middle-aged brain is more flexible than previously thought.
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION = Barbara Strauch, a leading science writer, examines how the brain's capacity reaches its peak in middle age. For many years, scientists thought that the human brain simply decayed over time and its dying cells led to memory slips, fuzzy logic, negative thinking, and even depression. But new research from neuro-scientists and psychologists suggests that, in fact, the brain reorganizes, improves in important functions, and even helps us adopt a more optimistic outlook in middle age. Growth of white matter and brain connectors allow us to recognize patterns faster, make better judgments, and find unique solutions to problems. Scientists call these traits cognitive expertise and they reach their highest levels in middle age.
In her impeccably researched book, science writer explores the latest findings that demonstrate, through the use of technology such as brain scans, that the middle-aged brain is more flexible and more capable than previously thought. For the first time, long-term studies show that our view of middle age has been misleading and incomplete. By detailing exactly the normal, healthy brain functions over time, Strauch also explains how its optimal processes can be maintained. Part scientific survey, part how-to guide, The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain is a fascinating glimpse at our surprisingly talented middle-aged minds.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR = Barbara Strauch is health and medical science editor and a deputy science editor at The New York Times and the author of The Primal Teen: What the New Discoveries About the Teenage Brain Tell Us About Our Kids. She previously covered science and medical issues in Boston and Houston and directed Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism at Newsday.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY = Your mind is getting older, but it's also getting (mostly) better, argues this very comforting treatise on the aging brain. The bad news, according to New York Times health editor Strauch (The Primal Teen), is that, as we sail past our 40s, the brain slows down a mite and occasionally forgets names and loses its train of thought. The good news is that it more than compensates with experience and know-how, improved verbal and spatial skills, brilliant intuitions, and "sustained wisdom-ness." The even better news, Strauch notes, is the improvements in brain function that flow from health regimens ranging from exercise (huge benefits) to drinking red wine (uncertain benefits) to chronic semistarvation (what was that about wine?) right into old age. And forget those myths about midlife crises and empty-nest syndromes: the middle-aged mind, the author insists, is at its peak of both competence and contentment. Sprinkling in conversations with graying but vigorous brain researchers who double as role models, Strauch gives a breezy rundown of developments in neuroscience that shatter the received picture of inevitable mental stagnation and decline. Her mix of intriguing pop-science and reassuring pep talk should win her hopeful message an avid readership. (Apr. 19) Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.
REVIEWS = Praise for The Primal Teen by Barbara Strauch =
"Provocative...A contender for every parent's reading list." – Newsday
"Upends the longstanding belief that the teenage brain is largely complete, concluding instead that it is undergoing dramatic changes that can help explain what appears to be a gap between intelligence and judgement." – The Hartford Courant
"This is such a smart book...Barbara Strauch acts as a world-class guide to a mysterious place, taking us on a journey through the teenage brain and making sense of the scenery. In turns funny, curious, explanatory, vivid, she does an absolutely compelling job of helping us to understand our children-and ourselves."– Deborah Blum, author of Love at Goon Park — Harry Harlow and the Science of Affection
"Through interviews with parents, physicians, neuro-scientists, and teens, Strauch has compiled impressive insights about the nature of being a teen or the parent of one." – Science News
"Entertaining as well as informative." – Teacher magazine
"An intriguing look at cutting-edge studies that now tell us the brain is not finished growing in a child's early years but continues into the teens." – The Plain Dealer
"Can knowing more about the teenager's brain help us to understand the teenager's behavior? Can an account of the neuroscience of adolescence be lively and readable? Barbara Strauch provides convincing evidence that the answer to both questions is yes." – Judith Rich Harris, author of The Nurture Assumption: Why Children Turn Out the Way They Do
"Readers will be struck by the wonderfully candid comments by those interviewed as well as Strauch's insightful narrative." – Publishers Weekly
"Strauch's well-researched book explains studies that were impossible, without such advanced technology as the MRI in clear, compassionate, layperson's language...A parents' must-read." – Booklist
"Strauch [has]...a light, anecdotal style and a sense of humor. This is a very useful book...[These] are conclusions parents will want to consider carefull." – The Washington Post Book World
"Strauch tackles [loaded questions] with all the scientific instruments at her disposal...the latest findings neurological, biochemical, and psychological, with an illuminating dose of anecdote thrown in." – The New Scientist
"An important book...Strauch writes masterfully, making scientific research understandable to lay readers." – Library Journal (starred)
Go to Essay-Set #2: Focus on the Brain Science Facts of Life