After we hit forty, our brains integrate more and compartmentalize less
In other news, some seniors with good memories have larger memory neurons but physical exercise seems to help keep human memories alive.
In a systematic review recently published in the journal Psychophysiology, researchers from Monash University in Australia swept through the scientific literature, seeking to summarize how the connectivity of the human brain changes over our lifetimes. The gathered evidence suggests that in the fifth decade of life (that is, after a person turns 40), the brain starts to undergo a radical “rewiring” that results in diverse networks becoming more integrated and connected over the ensuing decades, with accompanying effects on cognition. – Ross Pomeroy, “The Brain Undergoes a Great “Rewiring” after Age 40” at Big Think (September 24, 2022)
Takehome: The human brain seems designed for longevity.
You may also wish to read: Ever wish you had total recall? Ask people who do… Recall of every detail of one’s past works out better for some people than for others. Just why some people can recall almost everything that happened to them is a mystery in neuroscience, in part because they are few in number.