Among the West's aging populations, there's a lot of teasing about those "senior moments." When in mid- sentence brain circuitry suddenly goes dead. Now science to the rescue with a neat neuro-biological explanation.
Only it should be remembered (pun intended!) teens and headlines have their "moments" too. As we shall see.
* Professor Adam Gassaley of the University of California compared the brains of seniors in their 60s & 70s with those of volunteers in their 20s. When asked to look at a picture of a forest, keep it mind for 15 seconds, then asked to match it to a second landscape picture, both groups did equally well. However, when the researchers interrupted the two landscapes with a picture of a face, seniors were less capable of doing it.
Gassaley concludes: "Scans showed seniors were slow to stop processing the face image and then re-engage back to a landscape image. Tasks which are handled by different parts of the brain. Call it a glitch..."
Great. This helps me understand why I'm always glitching. Somehow, though, It doesn't do much for me whenever I start up the stairs only to realize halfway up I don't know what the hell I'm doing here!
* However, let us not forget the infamous "teen moments." Well, at least male teens who research reports are having flash-moments of sex 40 and 50 times a day. Oh, so you forgot those moments...? Faithful neuro-biologists assure us they have the data to prove it. Now exactly why this data is so intriguing to these researchers may in itself be a compelling subject for research. Hmmm, researching-the-researchers. If that doesn't sound like a promising new reality show, I don't know what does!
* Finally, the "headline moments." The only reserch required here is to check last week's headlines as you put them out for this week's garbage pickup. Each seemed so vital! so critical! so essential! But that was then and this is now. Get it...? Headline moments come and go. Often in a blink. 'Twas ever thus.
Lesson learned here? Take all three "moments" with a very big smile of salt....
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