To me, “older adults” are those who are manifestly slowing down, physically and mentally, who can’t do many of the things they used to do, and who are discovering that the things they might want to do are becoming constricted by physical and mental limitations. A large part of the story of people who manage to stay young, in spite of their chronological age, relates to synaptic plasticity—the ability of the brain to make and form new connections. As we’ve seen, plasticity is influenced by your genetic makeup, your lifetime of experiences, and the culture in which you live. It is also
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