Memory and aging
[1] Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a condition in which people face memory problems more often than that of the average person their age.
Much like patients with Alzheimer's disease, those with mild cognitive impairment have difficulty accurately defining words and using them appropriately in sentences when asked.
Knowing the source and context of information can be extremely important in daily decision-making, so this is one way in which memory decline can affect the lives of the elderly.
[15] It is also possible that the years of education a person has had and the amount of attention they received as a child might be a variable closely related to the links of aging and memory.
[20] This inability to multi-task is normal with aging and is expected to become more apparent with the increase of older generations remaining in the work field.
These people are called the "super aged," and it was found that these individuals had fewer fiber-like tangles of tau protein than in typical elderly brains.
A study from 2009[24] examined how young and older adults differ in the underlying representation of a sequence of tasks and their efficiency at retrieving the information needed to complete their routine.
Findings from this study revealed that when older and young adults had to remember a sequence of eight animal images arranged in a fixed order, both age groups spontaneously used the organizational strategy of chunking to facilitate retrieval of information.
Issues in memory can also be linked to several common physical and psychological causes, such as: anxiety, dehydration, depression, infections, medication side effects, poor nutrition, vitamin B12 deficiency, psychological stress, substance abuse, chronic alcoholism, thyroid imbalances, and blood clots in the brain.
Taking care of the body and mind with appropriate medication, doctoral check-ups, and daily mental and physical exercise can prevent some of these memory issues.
A traumatic life event, such as the death of a spouse, can lead to changes in lifestyle and can leave an elderly person feeling unsure of themselves, sad, and lonely.
There is a possibility that the damage to the brain makes it harder for a person to encode and process information that should be stored in long-term memory (Nairne, 2000).
[citation needed] Tests and data show that as people age, the contiguity effect, which is stimuli that occur close together in the associated time, starts to weaken.
There have been various theories offered to explain why these changes may occur, which include fewer attentional resources, slower speed of processing, less capacity to hold information, and lack of inhibitory control.
[citation needed] Some theorists argue that the capacity of working memory decreases with age, and hence people are able to hold less information.
As a result of various studies he has completed examining this topic, Salthouse argues that as one ages, the speed of processing information decreases significantly.
[31] The younger persons brain is able to obtain and process information at a quicker rate which allows for subsequent integration and manipulation needed to complete the cognitive task at hand.
[31] As the aging process continues, deficits are seen in the ability to integrate, manipulate, and reorganize the contents of working memory in order to complete higher level cognitive tasks such as problem solving, decision making, goal setting, and planning.
The advantage to longitudinal studies include being able to see the effects that aging has on performance for each participant and even being able to distinguish early signs of memory related diseases.
[35] DSBs accumulate in neurons and astrocytes of the hippocampus and frontal cortex at early stages and during the progression to Alzheimer's disease, a process that could be an important driver of neurodegeneration and cognitive decline.
[citation needed] The treatment will depend on the cause of memory loss, but various drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease have been suggested in recent years.
Research has shown that auditory training, through instrumental musical activity or practice, can help preserve memory abilities as one ages.
Simple approaches such as finding clothes with large buttons, elastic waist bands, or Velcro straps can ease the struggles of getting dressed in the morning.
When household chores begin to pile up, find ways to break down large tasks into small, manageable steps that can be rewarded.
Using a respectful and simple approach, talking one-on-one can ease the pain of social isolation and bring much mental stimulation.
[40] Many people who experience memory loss and other cognitive impairments can have changes in behaviors that are challenging to deal with for care givers.
A caregiver also needs to remember to care for themselves, taking breaks, finding time to themselves and possibly joining a support group are a few ways to avoid burnout.
[44] Losing working memory has been cited as being the primary reason for a decline in a variety of cognitive tasks due to aging.
[47] Studies have shown that with aging, in terms of short-term visual memory, viewing time and task complexity affect performance.
[51] In addition, older adults sometimes show a positivity effect when remembering information, which seems to be a result of the increased focus on regulating emotion seen with age.
