AGING AND MIND: REMEMBERING, FORGETTING, AND GETTING OLDER
Studies show that most people over sixty-five feel their memory has gotten worse, and scientific research corroborates their belief. Older people as a group do get worse scores than the young on memory tests. But knowing this fact is not enough. The question is why. To understand the issues, it is important to get a picture of what memory involves.
We see the limit of short-term memory vividly when we get a telephone number from information and immediately make the call. We know by experience that we can dial the seven-digit number without having to write it down and that memory will not fail us provided the phone rings. If we get a busy signal, though, and have to try again, memory mysteriously fades. We have reached the twenty-second limit of this second memory phase.
To really remember the phone number or anything else, we must transfer what is in short-term memory to the most important system, long-term memory. Long-term memory is what we really mean when we think of memory, the sum total of things that we can recall from our past. Although emotionally charged events such as our wedding days or the births of our children are effortlessly embedded in this possibly permanent huge memory warehouse, often getting something into and out of long-term memory takes effort. We have to learn (or get in) what we want to remember in the first place. We have to retrieve (or get out) what we have learned at the right time. So while the word remembering means "getting something out," the important first step in having a memory of something is getting it in. If we haven't put the items we want into our warehouse in the first place, we will never be able to find and retrieve them. Learning something adequately is crucial to remembering.
The happy news is that getting older has virtually no effect on the first two memory steps. But older people on average do worse than the young on tests of the most important system, long-term memory. We now know that the difficulty could be either poor learning or poor recall (not being able to get out things already in our warehouse). Where does the basic problem He?
Many people would probably guess poor recall, saying, "My brain is so crowded with memories already that I have trouble getting that phone number or name out at the appropriate time. I know I know it, and it is still there somewhere, I just can't find it now.'' Or they might put their difficulty in a more negative way: "Isn't it true that because we lose brain cells, some memories once put into storage have been totally lost?"
The explanation of an overcrowded brain is not quite accurate, but we are noticing something that may really occur. As we grow older it may take longer to get a memory out, not because our storehouse is jammed to the rafters, but because of the age-related decline in thinking speed. Slower thinking probably accounts for at least part of the panicky feeling that our memory is less sharp. We confuse the fact that it takes a bit longer to remember something with the idea that there is something basically wrong with the whole system.
*29/159/5*
GENERAL HEALTH
- The expiry date is mentioned on each blister. It is different for different batches. The shelf life is 2 years from the date of manufacture and would differ from batch to batch depending on when they were manufactured.
- Read the product information leaflet provided with the product before using it.
Information that this website contains are general information only and are not intended as a replacement for advise and recommendations made by your medical practitioner. We do not make any warranty or represent the accuracy of information supplied herein. We reserve the right to omit portions, correct errors or withdraw an entire page on this website as we see fit without prior notice.
Information about a certain drug, its uses, recommended dosages and side effects do not serve as a substitute to a prescription or information relayed to you by a licensed medical practitioner. These materials are just a general overview about the product. Likewise, we do not endorse use of any drug found on this site.
Use of this site is at your sole risk. We disclaim responsibility for reliance you place upon the information that we posted on this site. Always seek medical advice from a professional healthcare and discuss thoroughly your intention of using any of the medicine that is offered in this website.
|
