Nervous system

| In the elderly, differences in functionality and even in the anatomy of the nervous system due to aging are seen to a greater or lesser degree.

Within the nervous system the central nervous system (brain, cerebellum and spinal cord) and the peripheral nervous system (the nerves) are differentiated.

The brain is the main organ, where memory resides, rational thinking, the control of voluntary and involuntary movements, the interpretation of the data collected by the sense organs and many other functions, such as neuroendocrine and the control of the vegetative functions (for example, body temperature). The function of the cerebellum is, broadly speaking, to control balance and coordination of mobility.

The spinal cord is the organ through which the impulses generated by the brain and cerebellum are sent to the rest of the body. The main peripheral nerves come out of it, which in addition to transmitting the orders of the central nervous system, send the sensations collected by the sense organs and the receptors of touch, pain and temperature, which are first managed in the medulla (arches reflexes).

The nervous system also accuses the passage of time, as the number of neurons decreases and the supporting and connective cells increase, which have no neuronal activity.

Likewise, there is a decrease in the production of neurotransmitters and their receptors (the keys and locks of brain and nerve function) throughout the central nervous system and in the areas of passage of nerve impulses from the sense organs to muscles and other organs.

Over time, waste products of neuron metabolism accumulate (proteins that form neurofibrillary tangles and plaques, lipofuscin, and others), as they are increasingly eliminated more slowly, making it difficult for neurons to function.

For all this, a slowing down of thinking, a decrease in memory, cognitive capacity and learning faculties can be seen that in a healthy elderly person should not interfere with the performance of normal activities. If they do, a dementia process should be ruled out.

There are also difficulties in psychomotor skills due to worse muscular and positional control, which are aggravated by the loss of muscle mass, which leads to problems in the coordination of movements.

Likewise, it is not difficult that in very old people there are even difficulties in the control of the autonomic regulation mechanisms, with which there is a decrease in reflexes and the appearance of problems in the control of blood pressure and balance with postural changes.

All these changes are not the same in all individuals, nor are they uniform in all systems of the same person. Thus, we can see the elderly with intact intellectual abilities but with problems in controlling movement, and individuals with difficulties in learning new skills with perfectly preserved mobility.