The old adage that age 40 is "over the hill" has come under fire recently as aging baby-boomers proclaim that "50 is the new 40" or "life begins at 50." With respect to brain function however, a more appropriate new aphorism might be "30 is the new 40." Researchers at the University of Virginia reported this week that some mental abilities begin to decline at age 27 after peaking at age 22.

The seven-year study of more than 2,000 healthy people aged 18-60 involved 12 tests of mental agility such as solving puzzles, recalling words and story details, and spotting patterns. For 9 of the 12 tests, the peak performance was achieved on average at age 22. By age 27, scores on the three tests that measure brain speed, reasoning, and visual puzzle-solving ability all began to decline. Scores on memory-related tests began to decline at around age 37, while scores on tests of cumulative knowledge such as vocabulary and general information continued to increase until the age of 60.

The study appears in the journal Neurobiology of Aging.

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_{Photo: Liz Henry, Flickr, Creative Commons}