Mental Ability for Older Perple - PSYCHO LOCTY NOTES - As the critical thinking in Psychology feature points out, declines in mental functions, such as memory, are by no means an Inevitable partof old age. However, when older people do experience trouble with memory, Itis very distressing and frustrating for them, It has a strong negative effect on their self-concepts, and it causes anxiery and depression (Hulcka, 1918) . There are hints that in time we may be able to corsect many memory problems ot this sort. We know that the number of nerve cells in the brain decreases with age, but this may not be the real source of the trouble, since we have so many of them to begin with. In fact, for the typical older person, the brain has shruns only about 8 percent from its original size by the age of 15. Instead studes with aged animals and humans show that the more important loss involves chemicals that are used to communicate trom one cell to another. The first "brain transplants" performed involved taking tsue from the adrenal glands, which produce this nerve cell chemical, and placing it inside the brain. While thisis probably not the final answer, a number of people gained improved memory from the process.