Age is a major risk factor for most common neurodegenerative diseases, including mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease, cerebrovascular disease, Parkinson's disease, and Lou Gehrig's disease. Many molecular changes are due in part to a reduction in the size of the brain, as well as loss of brain plasticity. Brain plasticity is the brain's ability to change structure and function. The brain's main function is to decide what information is worth keeping and what is not; if there is an action or a thought that a person is not using, the brain will eliminate space for it. Brain size and composition change along with brain function. The brain begins to lose neurons in later adult years; the loss of neurons within the cerebral cortex occurs at different rates, with some areas losing neurons more quickly than others. The frontal lobe, which is responsible for the integration of information, judgement, and reflective thought, and corpus callosum tend to lose neurons faster than other areas, such as the temporal and occipital
Age is a major risk factor for most common neurodegenerative diseases, including mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease, cerebrovascular disease, Parkinson's disease, and Lou Gehrig's disease. Many molecular changes are due in part to a reduction in the size of the brain, as well as loss of brain plasticity. Brain plasticity is the brain's ability to change structure and function. The brain's main function is to decide what information is worth keeping and what is not; if there is an action or a thought that a person is not using, the brain will eliminate space for it. Brain size and composition change along with brain function. The brain begins to lose neurons in later adult years; the loss of neurons within the cerebral cortex occurs at different rates, with some areas losing neurons more quickly than others. The frontal lobe, which is responsible for the integration of information, judgement, and reflective thought, and corpus callosum tend to lose neurons faster than other areas, such as the temporal and occipital