Human brain remains ‘sharp till 60’
Contrary to popular belief, a recent study has found that the human brain remains sharp till advanced age.
The study result by researchers of Heidelberg University in Germany is challenging the idea that the human brain's functioning speed declines from the age of 20-30, reports BBC.
The scientists used an online task to estimate the decision-making times of 1.2 million people, aged 10 to 80, according to the study published in Nature Human Behaviour.
The study found that the mental speed of those aged between 30 and 60 remained relatively stable.
However, caution tended to grow with age, the BBC report adds.
The scientists showed participants a series of images and asked them to place them in two categories -- good or bad -- pressing different buttons to do so.
The task apparently involved distinct processes, like mental speed, decision caution and the time involved in actually pressing a button.
Using mathematical models, the researchers of the German university were able to estimate the speed at which participants completed each part of the process.
They found that while the average time to complete the overall task got worse after the age of 20, the mental speed of processing information did not start to slow until 60, the BBC report adds.
The findings of the study suggest that people under 18 were least cautious and were most willing to forgo accuracy for speed.
Caution around decisions increased between ages 18 and 65.
Older people took longer to press the relevant button.
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