Brain Mechanisms and Cognitive Functions

Some of the major biological mechanisms related to cognitive ability include:

-Neurogenesis: The brain’s ability to grow and develop new neurons throughout adulthood and into later life, which is especially critical for learning and memory.

-Synaptic Plasticity: The brain’s ability to adjust how individual neurons connect and communicate with each other. This plasticity allows them to encode and store new information and memories.

-Myelination: The brain’s ability to provide neurons with the special coating (myelin ) that they need to be able to transmit signals quickly and efficiently.

-Oxidative Stress: The brain’s ability to protect cells from oxidative damage caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS), sometimes also known as free radicals . Without this protection, neurons accumulate damage over time, which makes them work less effectively (or even die off altogether).

-Inflammation: The brain’s ability to regulate immune system activity and prevent inflammatory responses from interfering with cognitive function. Chronic inflammation in the brain can lead to neuronal damage and cell death, which can result in cognitive impairments over time.

-DNA Modification and Repair: The brain’s ability to turn certain genes “on” or “off” (via methylation ) and to repair any mistakes that might occur when cells copy their DNA during reproduction. These are critical functions with significant long-term impacts on the brain’s ability to function properly .

-Diet and Other Lifestyle Factors: The brain’s response to common everyday behaviors, such as our diet and exercise habits, can have a powerful influence on how efficiently our brain carries out complex cognitive processes.

Some of the individual cognitive functions that serve as the major building-blocks of overall cognitive ability include:

-Processing Speed: The amount of time it takes for the brain to take in, analyze, and react to incoming information.

-Learning and Memory: The brain’s ability to process and store new information so that it can be later recalled from memory. Some studies break these processes down even further into specific forms of memory and learning, such as spatial, verbal, and working memory.

-Cognitive Flexibility: The brain’s ability to adapt its processing to new contexts and situations. This function includes picking up on new information, switching between tasks efficiently, and resisting distraction by irrelevant information. Studies that look at attention, concentration, or executive function would fall into this general category of mental functioning.

-“Fluid” and “Crystallized” Intelligence: Fluid intelligence refers to a person’s ability to reason through and react to new situations. In contrast, crystallized intelligence refers to the skills and knowledge that a person has built up or acquired over the course of previous experience, practice, or education. Together, these factors make up general intelligence (IQ); however, some genes only affect one or the other