Question: What is the link between our brain functionality (specifically the frontal lobe) and age when solving patterns? Why do younger people find it easier to link patterns than older people?

William Davies answered on 23 Jun 2010:

It has been suggested that ‘intelligence’ can be subdivided into ‘fluid intelligence’ (the ability to solve problems) and ‘crystallised intelligence’ (the ability to use skills, knowledge and experience). Young people (and people with disorders such as Asperger syndrome) generally have a better fluid intelligence than older people, whereas older people tend to exhibit better crystallised intelligence (up to about the age of 65). These differences are probably due to the brain making and breaking new connections through adolescence (allowing some degree of flexibility), and to certain parts of the brain degenerating as we age (at different rates depending on the particular brain region). The frontal cortex (responsible for most higher cognitive functions) is known to degenerate signifcantly as we age, and this degeneration is even worse in a class of disorders known as the dementias (which include Alzheimer’s Disease)