Re: Is there a physiological reason for the decline in

Dear Malkavian,

You ask a question about the possible decline of creativity and learning 
with aging. What is rather surprising is your statement about the belief 
that this decline begins as soon as 20 years old, which I think is not the 
case. If I understand your question, a part of this statement is based on 
the fact that some scientists have done great work when they were under 
20 years old. First, these cases are very rare and should not necessarily 
be representative of the majority of people. Second, these scientists 
have probably not been « more creative » when they were under 20 years old 
than in the rest of their careers. Moreover, creativity is a very complex 
process which is at least partially build up upon our past experience. In 
that sense, I would say that you become creative through the years. 
Particularly, in scientific domain, you must improve your knowledge for 
many years before being creative in that a particular discipline. About 
the possible physiological mechanisms of learning, they are not known and 
our actual conception of the neuronal (and molecular) mechanisms 
underlying even the most primitive forms of learning relies in part on 
experiments with invertebrates. One interesting thing is that there is 
growing evidence that the adult brain also benefits from a certain degree 
of « plasticity ». It is possible that even in the adult brain, short 
range connections may also be modified and may underly some processes of 
learning in adults. Several studies suggest that learning capacities 
decline with aging (this is sometimes due to disease) but not as early as 
20 years old. Moreover, the question of decline in creative capacities 
with aging depends on how we define creativity. As example, scientific 
creativity versus art creativity may not by affected in the same way by 
aging. Finally, a change with aging is not necessarly a decline.

I hope that help !
Eric

 See also these related articles :

Helson R.  Roberts B.  Agronick G.
Enduringness and change in creative personality and the prediction of 
occupational creativity.
Journal of Personality & Social Psychology.  69(6):1173-83, 1995 Dec.

Cohen GD.
Creativity and aging: ramifications for research, practice, and policy.
Geriatrics.  53 Suppl 1:S4-8, 1998 Sep.

Abra J.
Changes in creativity with age: data, explanations, and further 
predictions.
International Journal of Aging & Human Development.  28(2):105-26, 1989.