How Aging Affects Memory
    
Diana Milne, Human Development Specialist
Clay County  
milned@missouri.edu

Scientists are still working to unlock all the mysteries of age-related dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Yet, they do tell us that some of the things we may believe to be true about memory loss are more myth than fact.

If your brain remembered every single bit of information you’ve ever been exposed to, it would be overwhelmed. For this reason, our brains sort out what will and what won’t become long-term memories. How this happens is a matter of debate among the experts; but it may be influenced by your:
emotions, stress, living environment, previous memories, and perception/bias.

To fully understand how aging affects memory, look at natural changes in the brain and how it stores memories. With aging, the brain seems to lose cells in areas that produce important chemicals that carry information. This decrease in cells upsets the delicate balance of the chemical "messengers."

Other changes occur in the brain’s white matter of brain cells (the telephone cables) which allows cells to communicate with each other.

So, as we age, it’s not that we forget more easily, but rather that we may simply take longer to learn new information. In practical terms, this means that we may need to pay closer attention to new information in order to learn and remember. We may also need to try different strategies to improve learning and make it part of our memory.