Betterhumans reports on one small step forward in understanding how the capabilities of the human brain decline with age: "Aging brains have been found to produce diminished amounts of critical growth factors that spur the birth of new neurons in the brain's learning and memory center. ... We determined that there is no major, fundamental defect in how newly born cells behave in the aging hippocampus. There is simply less of the growth factors that drive stem cells to produce new neurons. This is encouraging news because it means we can employ strategies to increase the levels of these growth factors and see whether an increased production of new neurons can be sustained in the aging hippocampus." So comparatively simple medical technologies may be able to repair age-related decline in learning and memory abilities.

Link: http://www.betterhumans.com/News/1064/Default.aspx