The effects of aging on cognitive function is one of the areas of greatest scientific concern that grows as life expectancy is prolonged and mental health becomes key to sustaining the quality of life of the longest-lived people and their environment.
For example, previous studies have found that aging affects processing efficiency and speed, explicit learning, working memory, attention and problem solving. These changes may result from the reduction of gray matter volume in the brain regions as you age, including the anterior cingulate cortex, the orbital frontal cortex, the superior temporal sulcus, the insula, and the dorsal and ventral striatum.
Social behaviors and emotional responses also change with age. Older people spend more time volunteering and donate a greater proportion of their income to charities compared to younger adults. Laboratory studies have confirmed that older people share more money with strangers than younger adults. Several factors are associated with greater prosociality in long-lived people. This includes increased positive affection. Older adults may develop mood-enhancing skills that are less likely to be used by younger adults, although scientists accept that there is significant variation between individuals.
In new research, which has just been published in Frontiers, scientists have found that, on average, with a few exceptions, people really become nicer as they get older, and this is largely due to increased levels of oxytocin. Specialists even suggest that at least some people who seem to become more irritable with age may be suffering from a drop in oxytocin levels, a situation that can also change as they age. Among those for whom this feel-good hormone increases there is a greater sense of happiness and satisfaction with age.
Oxytocin is so closely related to goodness and happiness, experts report, that satisfaction with life could be increased by acts of kindness. This action would be an acceptable engine to start a virtuous cycle, or positive feedback loop, of feeling better by doing more good deeds, since “kind behaviors stimulate oxytocin production,” the authors quote in the study.
“This research provides a neurological explanation of why many people become nicer as they age,” explained Paul J Zak, a specialist at the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies at the University of Claremont in California. We studied healthy people aged 18 to 99 and found that the release of oxytocin increased with age d. In addition, this change in oxytocin positively influenced prosocial behavior aimed at benefiting people, such as donations to charitable organizations and volunteering in the social sector. This is the first time that a clear change in oxytocin is related to prosocial behaviors,” the scientist completed.
In the process, scientists also found that levels of gratitude and empathic concern increase as you age, again due to increased levels of oxytocin. “Perhaps most interestingly, the change in oxytocin was associated with increased life satisfaction, gratitude, and empathic concern that increase as people age,” Zak added. Oxytocin has been shown to influence trust, altruism, charity and generosity, and our findings indicate that neural chemistry that helps maintain social relationships and live a full life seems to strengthen with age.”
Zak suggests that the findings offer life lessons for people of all ages, but perhaps especially for the elderly, for whom social activity becomes increasingly important but harder to satisfy. “Research shows that the demand for social interactions is growing, not decreasing, with age and older people who meet this demand live a better life. This is especially important because they lose close relationships as they age,” he said.
“More generally, research shows that people of all ages can increase their satisfaction with life by increasing the number and type of helping behaviors they perform. Positive feedback from helping others can train the brain to release more oxytocin, so that they reap its benefits, including reduced physiological stress and a better immune response.” Specialists emphasized that oxytocin and the social connections it allows can substantially reduce morbidity and mortality.
“Helping others is not only enjoyable, but it can also make people happier and healthier. Subjects need others to thrive and when we understand this, we can create more opportunities to connect with others at work, during leisure time and choose to participate in more social activities,” the scientist concluded.
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