As the Presidential primaries begin and the candidates try and convince us that their opponents are not qualified, it might be good to consider what neuroscience might teach us about the aging brain.
According to a recent headline in the magazine Politico, “Clinton surrogate to demand Sanders release medical records.” The article goes on to say, “A top surrogate for Hillary Clinton, David Brock founder of the Clinton-aligned Correct the Record PAC, is prepping a new attack in an intensifying and increasingly personal war against rival Bernie Sanders — calling on the 74-year-old to release his medical records before the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1.”
It’s true Bernie is 74 year’s old, while Donald Trump is 69 and Hillary Clinton is a mere 68. We certainly want the candidate who may be our next President to be able to function at a high level. But mental function may have more to do with the stresses and traumas we experience in life than the number of years we have lived. The youngest brain may be housed in the cranium of the oldest candidate.
Anyone who observes our political leaders recognizes the impact of stress on their lives. Look at the man presently in office, Barack Obama. Here are two pictures, one when he was first elected in 2008 and one taken recently. No question, he looks significantly older and it’s not just the seven years he’s been in office. It’s been the stress.
Neuroscientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have found that chronic stress triggers long-term changes in brain structure and function that may explain why people suffering chronic stress are prone to mental problems such as anxiety and mood disorders.
In a series of experiments, Dr. Daniela Kaufer, UC Berkeley associate professor of integrative biology, and her colleagues, discovered that chronic stress generates more myelin-producing cells and fewer neurons than normal. This results in an excess of myelin – and thus, white matter – in some areas of the brain, which disrupts the delicate balance and timing of communication within the brain.
As a therapist who has worked with many people under stress, I think of the stresses that Hillary Clinton has experienced as a politician, First Lady, Senator, Secretary of State, and now candidate for President. She may be younger than Bernie, but I suspect her brain has suffered more stress and may, in fact, be older and less capable of making good decisions.
We also know that childhood neglect, abuse, and abandonment can cause brain damage that shows up throughout our lives. When I look at Donald Trump I see an angry and aggressive man who I suspect has suffered considerable damage growing up. I got some confirmation of my beliefs from Trump’s 1987 book, The Art of the Deal.
Trump writes that he was “aggressive and assertive” from a young age. “In the second grade I actually gave a teacher a black eye — I punched my music teacher because I didn’t think he knew anything about music and I almost got expelled,” Trump says. “I’m not proud of that, but it’s clear evidence that even early on I had a tendency to stand up and make my opinions known in a very forceful way. The difference now is that I use my brain instead of my fists.” Those who study childhood trauma and their impact would recognize early expressions of rage.
We see other indicators in his stories about himself and his younger brother, Robert. They were playing with toy blocks when Trump was inspired to create a tall building, which would require some of his brother’s blocks. Robert let him borrow them.
“I ended up using all of my blocks, and then all of his, and when I was done, I’d created a beautiful building,” Trump writes. “I liked it so much that I glued the whole thing together. And that was the end of Robert’s blocks.” Trump sees his actions as expressions of his drive to build beautiful buildings. Those who study childhood trauma would recognize early signs of his wounding, his willingness to take what wasn’t his, and “me first” narcissism (My buildings are more important than my brother’s feelings.)
Trump also describes his relationship with his father in the book who he proudly says was “able to crush the competition” in the building trades. Trump depicts his father, Fred, as a stern, aggressive, and practical man — traits that also came naturally to him.
Trump’s father sent him to the New York Military Academy to straighten him out and keep him out of the trouble he liked to get into as a boy. He joined when he was 13 and stayed from eighth grade to the end of high school, graduating as captain of cadets. Trump.
Trump says the experience toughened him up and he is grateful for his time at the academy, where he says he learned how to channel his “aggression into achievement.” Those who study childhood trauma would recognize the continuing aggression as unresolved anger from being neglected as a child and not getting the nurturing and love he needed from his “stern and aggressive” father.
Of course, I can only offer speculation about the effects of stress and trauma on Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. I’ve never talked to them personally. I don’t know much about Bernie’s background. I do know that he has supported the average American for many years and refuses to take money from political action committees (PACs) who never give anything for free. You can feel his passion and anger, but his anger isn’t directed at other people, but at the conditions that keep us all from leading, full and healthy lives.
When we decide who would make the best President, I suggest that Bernie may well have the youngest and most highly functional brain for the job.
I’ll look forward to your comments.
As someone living in the UK it is always uplifting to see people still active at a high level in society in America in this age group. Over here until recently you had to retire at 65. Only the self employed went on any longer and not in great numbers. So what is it about your society that makes you young at 68 when over here you would normally be done with work and considered too old to be functioning at a high enough level for important positions.
I think we’re a young country and we have all the brashness of youth. We value what’s new and are entranced with the latest “new stuff.” This has its advantages and disadvantages. We love to stay active and involved, even as we get older, but we can also act (like in our foreign policy) like the neighborhood bully. Hopefully as we mature, we’ll do better. Hopefully Bernie can expand our understanding of what good men are like, what good government can be, and how our country might prosper if it weren’t so heavily weighted to those with lots of money.
Jed
Inventive agenda article Jed, Bernie and Donald both are insurgent candidates going against the ruling class of which Hilary is the poster child for. As for brain age you already covered that topic in other writings so let’s just put it out there this was your homage to Bernie, the angry Jew from Brooklyn. I get his anger but let’s face it he has been feeding at the public coffers for his entire life, he has never had to fend for himself in the cold cruel world. At least Hilary came up with a way to funnel billions from the 1% to insure they could continue to rule the world. The question is do we really believe the Donald is angry or just the smartest in the group? I think he has been able to tap into the outright rage that pulsates in the less then 1%, not the rage against capitalism and globalism like the burn but the rage that many feel who get up, go to work and follow the ‘rules’. America was built on laws and it is those laws that created the worlds most stable economy, things like property rights, boarders security, free speech and yes the right to own a gun. I live in one of the most liberal states, NY; but the thing is that if you cut off NYC and its direct suburbs NY would be mostly red, people are really angry at many things. But the thing they are most angry at is when a law that is in place is not enforced because it does not benefit those who are in charge. They are also done with the ruling class, and I think they are more angry at the republican ruling class because of their blatant corruption of the policies they ran for election touting but once they got the power they were after they got in line on the money train and forgot joe six pack who trusted them. So this is a revolution every bit as meaningful as the one our founding fathers staged. I am a student of history, and lately I have been immersed in the original civil war which was the revolution. It was based in anger very much like the kind of anger we are seeing now, it was based on an elite ruling class taking for granted the very people they claimed to represent. It was based on an over reach by the ruling elite who over stepped what the population would accept and they never understood the anger and discounted it; it was about rules and when those rules did not fit what the political class thought they deserved they tried to change the rule, a rigged game.
I can’t say if this is a true revolution or if the fly over people can coalesce their anger into anything that can change the system but I can say the brains that need study are not Bernie or Donald’s, it is those who think they understand America because they were elected to an office using political money, influential money, to get there. Those who have rigged the system and have become very rich lying and cheating and looking at the rest of us like rubes are the ones in the cross hairs of many and it seems justifiable.
Bill, truly enlightened comments. Thanks for the education.
I agree with both of you and I feel the real danger here IS the educated miscalculating the fear and anger of the educated, un mindful and the unenlightened. A crash course in critical thinking and media awareness is needed to revive the whole county. BTW When I left the county to work, the republicans were the “blue blood” party and the Democrats were the “REd Commie party” I have been able to trace the flip to sometime in 1991, but I think the color shift was purposeful and illustrative. THe current “red ” party has pretty much delivered what Mao called for in his little red book, while Democrats seem aloof from the needs and demands of THEIR constituency. Dems have never realized that people vote for their ASPIRATIONS, or,what they aspire, to rather than PRINCIPALS that if built upon will fulfiill their dreams.
Tina, Thanks for your comments. Finding our path and the path we wish to support isn’t always easy for people who are thoughtful, compassionate, and caring.
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