Running Head : AGING Effects of Aging on Nervous System Author ‘s Name University /College Professor Course Subject Date Abstract The body , especially the brain , experiences various morphological and even functional changes as it undergoes the process of aging . Neural related evidences can help explain the different phenomena that a person undergoes as his age increases . This paper will discuss the different effects of aging to the nervous system of an individual and the possible mechanisms responsible for the deterioration and degradation of nervous activities .Effects of Aging on Nervous System During the prenatal developmental stage , mitotic activities in the tissues of the nervous system are already completed . Therefore , an individual is born possessing the maximum amount of neurons that he or she is capable of producing . But tissues of the nervous system continuously grow and undergo specialization during the postnatal life .The extent , however , to which the nervous tissue is modified during the process of aging is currently unknown . Scientists have previously predicted that there are approximately 100 ,000 neurons destroyed everyday of human adult life . But recent studies conducted reveal otherwise , as there are relatively few neural cells lost through the normal aging process . But due to modern day lifestyle adopted by humans ,neural cells become more prone to damage . Neurons are highly sensitive and susceptible to a variety of drugs that may cause the interruption of the vascular supply , such as those resulting from strokes and other cardiovascular diseases (Van de Graaff and Fox , 1995 , p . 377-380 . Evidences also reflect the modifications in neurotransmitters caused by aging . Age-related conditions such as depression or neurological diseases such as Alzheimer ‘s disease are possibly due to neurotransmitter chemical imbalance . But behavioral changes such as alteration of sleeping patterns in elderly people are also probable results of neurotransmitter problems (Van de Graaff and Fox , 1995 , p .380 . Brain changes caused by aging is very essential in the process of senescence and is very much associated with impairments in cognitive processes and memory gaps . The mechanisms proposed that contribute to these phenomena are the cumulative effects of mitochondrial DNA that result to instability of the genome , epigenetic modifications that cause changes in genetic expression , damage due to oxidation in important forms of macromolecules , and other abnormal activities within the system (Yu et al , 2005 , p . 28 . Both structural and functional changes in the brain commonly associated with aging can result to an increase in a person ‘s risk towards cognitive and psychiatric complications (Sibille , 2007 Wenderoth et al , 2007 . In a study conducted by Japanese scientists , they found that such cognitive dysfunction related to aging are associated with cellular damages and modifications in brain tissues due to the process of oxidation (Kiefer , 2004 , p . 27 . The brain is extremely vital in maintaining biological functions , therefore it has a higher oxygen requirement compared to other tissues . As this undergoes the process of oxidation , the more that it expels free radicals and causes the increase of chances for brain tissues to become exposed to…