Use It or Lose It
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Del.icio.usHurry up and get that college degree before you loose it - your mind that is. According to a study in the journal, Neurobiology of Aging, certain mental abilities max out at age 22.
Certain kinds of mental skills hit their peak at age 22 and then begin to decline at age 27, according to U.S. researchers who followed 2,000 healthy people, ages 18 to 60, for an average of seven years.
The study found that age 22 is when the brain reaches the high point in terms of speed of thoughts, ability to reason and visual problem-solving ability, CBC News reported. Test scores in these areas begin to decline at age 27.
University of Virginia psychology professor Timothy Salthouse and colleagues concluded that some “aspects of age-related cognitive decline begin in healthy educated adults when they are in their 20s and 30s.”
But the researchers also found that vocabulary skills and general knowledge improved until age 60, CBC News reported.
Many college students who earn their degrees later in life often find school to be more challenging, due to family commitments, work and time constraints. It would be interesting to see of cognitive function played a role in the education of older students.
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Editor: Melissa Steele is a freelance writer and focuses her research on funding for higher education. She is a graduate of UNLV and endeavors to keep her readers up to date with the most relevant education information.