The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain: The Surprising Talents of the Middle-Aged Mind

by Barbara Strauch

Overview

A leading science writer examines how our brains improve in middle age.

Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer Barbara Strauch explores the latest findings that demonstrate how the middle-aged brain is more flexible and capable than previously thought. In fact, new research from neuroscientists and psychologists suggests that the brain reorganizes, improves in important functions, and even helps us adopt a more optimistic outlook in middle age. We recognize patterns faster, make better judgments, and find unique solutions to problems. 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780143118879
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/22/2011
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	369,715
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Barbara Strauch was a reporter and newspaper editor who directed health and science coverage for the New York Times for a decade. Prior to joining the New York Times, she had covered science and medical issues in Boston and Houston and directed Pulitzer Prize–winning news at Newsday. She was also the author of two books about the brain. Strauch died in 2015 at the age of 63.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Changing Landscape of Middle Age xiii

Part 1 The Powers That Be

1 Am I Losing My Mind?: Sometimes, but the Gains Beat the Losses 3

2 The Best Brains of Our Lives: A Bit Slower, but So Much Better 12

3 A Brighter Place: I'm So Glad I'm Not Young Anymore 28

4 Experience. Judgment. Wisdom.: Do We Really Know What We're Talking About? 41

5 The Middle in Motion: The Midlife Crisis Conspiracy 54

Part 2 The Inner Workings

6 What Changes with Time: Glitches the Brain Learns to Deal With 69

7 Two Brains Are Better Than One: Especially Inside One Head 91

8 Extra Brainpower: A Reservoir to Tap When Needed 104

Part 3 Healthier Brains

9 Keep Moving and Keep Your Wits: Exercise Builds Brains 125

10 Food for Thought: And a Few Other Substances, as Well 144

11 The Brain Gym: Toning Up Your Circuits 170

Epilogue: A New Place for Better, Longer Lives 191

Acknowledgments 199

Sources 201

Index 221

Editorial 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 GoonPark: Hanny Harlow and the Science of Affection

"Through interviews with parents, physicians, neuroscientists, 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)

From the Publisher

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)

Publishers Weekly

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