Despite living in the youth-worshipping society, we can all agree that getting older can offer a few benefits. The first benefit that comes to mind is WISDOM. What is Wisdom? A standard philosophical (in Greek, philos-sophia = lover of wisdom) definition of wisdom pertains to judicious application of knowledge, and most religions have considered it a virtue. Wisdom is thought to be a complex construct, with several subcomponents. wisdom such as thoughtful decision-making, compassion, altruism, and insight
We get wiser with age. And that happens despite the deterioration of the physical body, including brain. Why is it? There are several reasons such as: we become more economic in how we choose to spend our energy and where to put our attention. We learn not to “sweat small stuff” meaning that we choose not to react to minor stressors and ignore minor irritations of everyday life. Our emotion regulation improves along with increase in self-efficacy. We learn to cherish the remaining days of our lives and put our attention on positive, rather than “wallow in disappointments and negative thinking.” We learn to live in the moment, because tomorrow may never come. We learn to count our blessings. We strive to achieve meaning and purpose before we die. Facing mortality with aging or with chronic disease, brings all of these into focus.
Neuroimaging studies of cognitive processes involved in wisdom. The prefrontal cortex figures prominently in several wisdom subcomponents (e.g., emotional regulation, decision-making, multi-tasking), primarily via top-down regulation of limbic and striatal regions. The lateral prefrontal cortex facilitates calculated, reason-based decision-making, whereas the medial prefrontal cortex is implicated in emotional valence and prosocial attitudes/behaviors. Reward neurocircuitry (ventral striatum, nucleus accumbens) also appears important for promoting prosocial attitudes/behaviors. Monoaminergic activity (especially dopaminergic and serotonergic), influenced by several genetic polymorphisms, is critical to certain subcomponents of wisdom such as emotional regulation, impulse control, decision-making, and prosocial behaviors.
Spirituality is another aspect of wisdom. The closer we get to death, the more open we become to our spiritual connection to All That Is, the Universe. You can call it nature, Creator, God/Goddess, or anything else. That process is referred to as gerotranscendence. Gerotranscendence is a psychosocial theory that proposes older adults experience a mindset shift in multiple dimensions (cosmic, coherence, solitude), associated with different constructs, such as life satisfaction and well-being. The neuroscience of gerotranscendence is still under-researched. Neuroimaging studies point to a predisposition in human beings toward spiritual feeling, thinking, and behaviors as measured by a supposedly stable personality trait called self-transcendence, the overcoming of individual selfish needs and desires. Neuroimaging studies suggest that neural activation of a large fronto-parieto-temporal network may underpin a variety of spiritual experiences, such as self-transcendence. In addition, with the help of personality assessment and advanced brain-lesion mapping techniques, they show selective damage to left and right inferior posterior parietal regions, inducing a specific increase in self-transcendence. The active role of left and right parietal systems in determining self-transcendence provides new insight into the neurobiological bases of spiritual experiences in neuro-psychiatric disorders.
But why is this possible in an aging brain that is generally expected to lead only to the “gloom and doom” that terrifies the entire aging population? It turns out that, in some cases, neurodegenerative processes in the brain do not portend the end of psychological and spiritual development and may even offer new opportunities for human evolution of consciousness.
For example, many studies have shown that patients with different types of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) demonstrate the emergence of new artistic abilities. This led to the hypothesis of enhanced creative thinking skills as a function of these pathological conditions, like hypofrontality leading to decreased inhibition of creativity. Patients with FTD exhibit new artistic creativity in poetry or paintings.
Another common neurodegenerative disorder like Parkinson’s disease (PD) that affects dopamine in the brain has a documented effect on spiritual or religious practices. A neural substrate for “transcendence,” being able to rise above the present moment in contemplation of an alternative reality, is considered by some as dependent on frontal lobe executive function and working memory Recent studies in healthy people point to basal ganglia involvement in maintaining and motivating religious beliefs, as well as rituals such as prayer and meditation. Cortico‐striatal‐thalamic roles in the general regulation of cognitive and emotional functioning, as well as motor control. Wider degenerative changes in PD beyond the nigrostriatal pathway and express in frontal executive deficits, decline in attention, concentration, and memory, are likely to impede aspects of religious practice.
Besides the speculations about the role of the brain in spiritual experiences, and the eternal debate about mind (spirit) over matter (brain), coping with PD can be experienced as a spiritual journey for some patients and caregivers having to face the disease, disability and finality of life. Living with neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, FTD or Parkinson’s disease can create an urgent and singular focus on psychological and spiritual development, allowing patients to do the work of life completion, break through the denial of death, and face a limited time horizon for spiritual practice. In all cases, the nearing end offers more new beginnings, even in old age.
