Life of the Brain

### Cold Open

"Check out this family. There's three generations here, starting with grandma, two grown-up parents, and two kids; One older, one younger. Everyone is at a different stage in their life, but whose brain do you think is in its prime? The answer, believe it or not, is all of them. At first, your brain embarks on a journey to create the memories that make you, you. And as you grow, from a toddler to tween, teen to adult, maybe into a parent and old age, your brain is changing too. At every stage of life, a different version of your brain emerges. Primed to learn fast, stay on task, and tackle the challenges of every age. You'll see how and why your brain changes and how to get the most out of your brain at every stage of life."

## Games

#### The Age Game:

We guess your age if you can hear the tone.

Result: The more hertz you can hear, the younger you are.

Don't worry, every stage of life has it's advantages.

### The Baby Brain

Your brain and perception of the world may be limited, but your brain has some incredible skills.

#### Mini-Game: Resolve

These faces are pixelated. As we resolve them, pick out the faces.

Result: You probably did pretty well.

Why: The ability to detect faces is a skill developed at a young age. And we don't need much info to do it. The developing infant brain relies on the same info kids and adults do. That's not all they can do. How do they interact with people?

#### Experiment: Auditory Cortex

An adult competes against 3 kids to understand unique sounds.

Result: The adult only heard some sounds. But he didn't respond to some sounds. Why did the babies win?

Why: It depends on language. An adult american would likely hear English the most but won't do the same for spanish. But our babies don't speak any language, which leads them to hear more and can hear every sound in every language. However, as you grow up, you learn to socialize.

#### The Q:

Draw a Q on your forehead. Depending on the way your drew the line, it tells something about your age.

Result: It's just a fun game, but depending on who looks at the Q, it could look backward to some people. Most kids draw the line for themselves, and most adults draw it for others.

Why: The theory of mind that other people not only exist and have minds of their own, isn't just helpful for being social, but developing an identity.

### The Tween Brain

#### Experiment: The Simple Questions

What happens when we ask people on the boardwalk about swimming with sharks?

Result: Most young kids and adults say no. But what will the tweens say?

#### Mini-Game: Stretch It!

Look at a boy's photo. Put them in order by age.

Result: It's a trick. The photos are the same, but modified and viewed from a different angle.

Why: It works because your brain can identify pictures by age.

Back to the boardwalk.

Result: It's not what you answer, but how you answer. The tweens use reasoning to understand their answer and don't outright reject a bad idea.

Why: We often criticize tweens for acting out for being self-centered, but the girls do something the younger girls don't, they're exploring their options.

Dr. Baird: In the tween years, they may become self-centered, but they're actually being hyper-vigilant and being aware of themselves in context. You gotta consider the possibilities which is an important part of growing up.

So: Your brain might just be making decisions not from selfishness, but from taking the time to consider all options and points of view. But the tween brain gets overwhelmed a few years later, as you move to...

### The Teen Brain

#### Mini-Game: Space It Out

Which orange dot is bigger?

Result: If you said the one on the right, we tricked you. They're the same size. Why were you fooled?

Why: Because the outer dots force our eyes to see the dots in context. You can see this when the dot in motion. This Illusion works better on older ages, but not as much on younger people because they don't take into account visual context.

#### Experiment: Brain Games 500

Teens and adults race around a go-kart course. Who will post the fastest time with obstacles in the way? Will the overconfident kids live up to their mouths?

Result: The adults and teens posted good times.

Dr. Chein: Their frontal lobes are well developed, and are able to make good decisions.

But what will happen if a cheering crowd if their peers?

#### Mini-Game: The Square Shade

Pick the different shaded square. See how many you can pick out.

Result: Was it harder as the squares got smaller, and shades less distinct?

So: You just tested your color vision. Teens use this with reflexes and motor skills to learn to drive.

Back to the 500.

Result: The teens bring up the rear and falter because their Amygdalas go haywire when a group of peers are there, making them take more risks. The reason for this is changes in puberty.

So: The teen years set the course for adulthood, and to try things out, to expirement, because you'll need the knowledge in the future.

### The Twenties Brain

#### Mini-Game: Seashells

Check when 3 seashells are the same color out of 9 changing color.

#### Expirement: Towel Shop

A young brain, an adult brain, and a twenties brain go head-to-head in a towel shop. They to have to manage multiple items of different prices and varieties.

So: The contestant's brain happens in memory areas in the brain, for multitasking. Multitasking overrides your working memory when done all together.

#### Mini-Game: On Tent

See how many people are inside the tent.

Result: The firt round is easy with enough space in your memory.

With a more complex round, how will you fare?

Result: If you fared not too well, that's ok.

Let's check back in at the towel shop.

Result: Under the stress, only the twenties brain was able to ride out the wave.

Why: Because the twenties brain rules in processing speed.

### The Grown-Up Brain

#### Mini-Game: Cut the Cake

Cut the cake into 8 pieces with 3 cuts.

Result: A solution you might not have thought of.

#### Experiment: Pull a Fast One

What happens when we swap out somebody for another person? Will the adults be fooled?

#### Mini-Game: Beach Balls

Keep track of beach balls.

Result: You probably did pretty well.

So: Adult brains need to be able to keep track of things efficiently. But a surprising benefit is when it loses track of things.

Back to the experiment.

Result: They don't see the change, even with a woman in the man's place. You wouldn't fall for it, rihgt?

#### Mini-Game: The Switch

Look for the switches in the image after staring at an image.

Result: You may have been thrown off.

Why: Because your brain has to prioritize your attention.

But why is it fine?

Your brain's mission is to make a useful version of the world, not an entirely accurate one. Your brain needs to focus on the task at hand as a grown-up. But as our brain reaches towards the end, one brain rules supreme in experience.

### The Elder Brain

#### Mini-Game: It's a Scramble

Find words within random letters.

Result: Depending on how you did, they are a good measure of crystallized intelligence.

So: crystallized intelligence comes with experience.

#### Expirement: Sand the Words

It's the same game as last time, but now the kids and middle-agers play. They get a bonus if they use all letters.

Result: The elders beat everyone out of the water.

Why: It's not just a better vocabluary, it's how the brain uses the words.

#### Mini-Game: Connection

What do three words have in common?

Result: The older you are, the easier this was.

Why: The neural pathways have become much more sophisticated. What you lose in fast work, you gain in reasoning and thought.

We change and adapt at every age to meet life's challenges.

## List of Experts

* Cara Santa Maria(Science Journalist)
* Dr. Abagil Baird(Vassar College)
* Dr. Jason Chein(Temple University)
* Dr. Cindy Lustig()