Leon Michael, Woo Cynthia
Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States.
Front Behav Neurosci. 2018 Jul 23;12:155. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00155. eCollection 2018.
The human brain sustains a slow but progressive decline in function as it ages and these changes are particularly profound in cognitive processing. A potential contributor to this deterioration is the gradual decline in the functioning of multiple sensory systems and the effects they have on areas of the brain that mediate cognitive function. In older adults, diminished capacity is typically observed in the visual, auditory, masticatory, olfactory, and motor systems, and these age-related declines are associated with both a decline in cognitive proficiency, and a loss of neurons in regions of the brain. We will review how the loss of hearing, vision, mastication skills, olfactory impairment, and motoric decline accompany cognitive loss, and how improved functioning of these systems may aid in the restoration of the cognitive abilities in older adults. The human brain appears to require a great deal of stimulation to maintain its cognitive efficacy as people age and environmental enrichment may aid in its maintenance and recovery.
随着年龄的增长，人类大脑的功能会持续缓慢但渐进地衰退，这些变化在认知处理方面尤为显著。这种衰退的一个潜在因素是多个感觉系统功能的逐渐下降，以及它们对介导认知功能的脑区所产生的影响。在老年人中，视觉、听觉、咀嚼、嗅觉和运动系统的能力通常会下降，而这些与年龄相关的衰退既与认知能力的下降有关，也与大脑区域神经元的丧失有关。我们将综述听力丧失、视力丧失、咀嚼技能丧失、嗅觉障碍和运动能力下降如何伴随认知能力丧失，以及这些系统功能的改善如何有助于恢复老年人的认知能力。随着人们年龄的增长，人类大脑似乎需要大量刺激来维持其认知效能，而环境丰富化可能有助于其维持和恢复。
