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The mind changes with aging too. Most people fear changes in their mental function more than any of the physical changes of aging. Mental function does not have to decline, however, the capacity to learn continues throughout life.As people age, they require more time than younger people to process new information and long-term memory is said to decline. Whether intelligence declines with aging is hotly debated. Dementia, memory problems that occur over a long period of time and affect many areas of cognitive functioning, affects less than 10 percent of people who are older than 65; this increases to as muchas 20 percent for people who are 85 or older.

Mental health has a major influence on how people function as they age, and even how they respond to medical illness. More than 25 percent of older peoplehave significant mental illness; among older people in institutions, this figure is more than 90 percent. Anxiety, described as unrealistic or excessiveanxiety about problems, is common.
Read more at: http://www.faqs.org/health/topics/19/Aging.html




Beyond middle age, there is a gradual deterioration in elements of memory, attention and information processing, that some see as due to an overall slowing down of cognitive functioning. Other researchers do not subscribe to this hypothesis that all brain functions slow down at the same rate. They argue that aging mainly affects some very specific functions, like certain types of information processing, which take part in many cognitive abilities. This may make it seem as though all cognitive processes have declined, though some may still be quite unaffected by age.

Memory deficits seen in those with both normal ageing and those with Alzheimer's disease have been connected to decrease in the volume of certain brain structures, for example an area called the hippocampus. Genetic markers have also been found to have importance. One study found a kind of "genetic signature", whereby certain specific gene changes were detected in ageing brains. Genes most reduced in the ageing brain were those dealing with learning and memory and those with most enhanced expression were involved in stress and repair mechanisms. In some people, these changes started as early as in their 40s. Interestingly, brain gene patterns were quite similar among young adults and among the very old. But, in the 40 -70 age group, patterns were far more variable, which suggests that people's brains age differently during middle age.
Read more at: http://www.brainskills.co.uk/Cogniti...neWithAge.html