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Brain Decline Begins At Age 27

Posted by timothy on from the mine-started-before-that dept.

krou writes "The BBC is reporting that a new study suggests that our mental abilities start to dwindle at 27 after peaking at 22, and 27 could be seen as the 'start of old age.' The seven-year study, by Professor Timothy Salthouse of the University of Virginia, looked at 2,000 healthy people aged 18-60, and used a number of mental agility tests already used to spot signs of dementia. 'The first age at which there was any marked decline was at 27 in tests of brain speed, reasoning and visual puzzle-solving ability. Things like memory stayed intact until the age of 37, on average, while abilities based on accumulated knowledge, such as performance on tests of vocabulary or general information, increased until the age of 60.'"

11 of 381 comments (clear)

  1. You kids! by spun · · Score: 4, Funny

    Get off my... uh green thing, with the, um little plants? What's it called?

    --
    - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
    1. Re:You kids! by internerdj · · Score: 4, Funny

      Who are you? What are you talking about? And have you seen my glasses?

    2. Re:You kids! by Quiet_Desperation · · Score: 4, Funny

      Get off my... uh green thing, with the, um little plants? What's it called?

      I'm guessing pot garden? :-)

    3. Re:You kids! by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 4, Funny

      And so we come full-circle with the root-cause of the memory loss.

  2. This would have been first post by MadMidnightBomber · · Score: 5, Funny

    but I'm 31, not 22.

    --
    "It doesn't cost enough, and it makes too much sense."
  3. says the 60-something year old... by ecklesweb · · Score: 5, Funny

    [sarcasm]
    Yeah, like I'm going to pay any attention to a study by a guy who got his Ph.D. in 1974 whose brain has therefore been declining for at least 35 years...
    [/sarcasm]

  4. Noooooo! by pdabbadabba · · Score: 4, Funny

    As a 26-year-old, let me be the first to say:

    "Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

    --
    caritj.org
    1. Re:Noooooo! by interkin3tic · · Score: 5, Funny

      You think you have it bad, I'm 27. I was going to say something like "wooo! That means I'm at my peak." Then I realized that it said, right there, that 22 was the peak. Also I'm wearing my Mr Rogers cardigan, I told myself I was wearing it ironically, but now I see that for the lie it is. So enjoy these last few months when you can finish the summary before jumping to conclusions and can actually wear old person clothes ironically.

    2. Re:Noooooo! by reverseengineer · · Score: 4, Funny

      As a 27-year old, I realize that I have completely spent the peak years of my intellectual capacity having made no greater contribution to the advancement of the human race than a few hundred Slashdot posts....




      Yeah, I can live with that.

      --
      "FDA staff reviewers expressed concern about the number of patients who were left out of the study because they died."
  5. Re:Peaking at 22 by bretticus · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well I feel like an idiot everyday of med school, so I am inclined to disagree.

  6. Re:Confounding Variable by bitt3n · · Score: 5, Funny
    intelligence is like pornography:
    • it's hard to define what it is
    • it's easy to identify when you see it
    • it perpetually frustrates organized religion
    --
    how many pairs of boxer shorts should you own?