Utah People's Post

The Latest News from the Beehive State

Saturday, May 28, 2022
Log in
  • National News
    • Female Caseworker Killed & Doctor Shot in Philadelphia
  • State News
    • Car Chase Leads to Drug Arrest
  • Tech & Science
  • Health
    • How to Prepare For Ticks Season
    • Magical Weight Loss Bean Scam
  • Sports
  • Business
You are here: Home / Health / Study Reveals that Elderly Memory Capacity Does Not Deteriorate

Study Reveals that Elderly Memory Capacity Does Not Deteriorate

November 30, 2014 Posted by Editor

Study Reveals that Elderly Memory Capacity Does Not DeteriorateIt is a known fact that as people advance in age, their ability to learn new things seems to wither. What was not known until recently is the reason behind it.

A recent study performed on the matter of elderly memory at Brown University has returned a series of very interesting results after a group of 20 people, 10 between 67-79 and another 10 in the 19-30 age group, were given a very simple visual test. The subjects were shown a series of slides with a mix of four letters and two numerals on a dynamic, dotted background and asked to recall the digits they saw. The key of the experiment was in fact the background, that researchers developed to move in a particular pattern from slide to slide. Some of the movements were designed to be outside the range of conscious detection, while others were deliberately made to draw the brain’s attention.

The results were particularly interesting: while the scientists expected the elders to process the patterns in the learning stage, the study proved the opposite. It was in fact the younger subjects that started unconsciously ignoring the dot motions and focusing on the numerals after reaching a certain threshold, while the elderly began showing difficulty in remembering the information they were asked to relate.

The 9-day experiment revealed the reason behind this as well. Over time, the human brain becomes less flexible, in the sense that it is weaker in filtering out irrelevant information. So in essence, elders actually struggle with learning more than younger people do because they take in more visual information than they are supposed to. This goes back to a very basic concept regarding the way the brain works. Its capacity is limited so when there’s a large input of unnecessary things being processed by the brain, existing information can be replaced with something trivial.

The study recently published by neuro-scientist Takeo Watanabe along with researchers from the University of California, Riverside and National Yang-Ming University also describes the discovery of how older people’s brains mostly involve usage of white matter, while the younger ones record more activity in the gray matter. Scientists hope that elders’ learning capability can be improved by consciously avoiding learning unnecessary facts, while admitting that from several points of view the weakening of information filtering systems may come as an advantage, acting out as a form of distributive attention.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: elder brain, elder memory loss, elderly memory, Neuroscience

Woman working out at the gym

Just 23% of Americans Are Working Out Enough in Their Spare Time

June 29, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Poliovirus Therapy Gives Brain Cancer Patients New Hope (Study)

June 29, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

United Airlines airplane

Passenger Mysteriously Dies on United Airlines flight Bound for Boston

June 28, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Breakfast sandwich

Here Are Some Foods No Nutritionist Would Ever Eat

June 27, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Poppy flower

UN Warns of Surge in Opium-based Drugs and Cocaine Supply

June 27, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

U.S.-Canada border

French Jogger Detained 2 Weeks for Accidentally Crossing Border

June 26, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Plus size model

Normalizing Plus Size Could Fuel Obesity Crisis (Study)

June 25, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Giant manta ray

Unique Manta Ray Nursery Spotted off Texas Coast

June 23, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

The rainbow flag

WHO Scraps Transgenderism from List of Mental Illnesses

June 22, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

456 People Dead at U.K. Hospital after Taking too Many Painkillers

June 21, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Kenyan girls dancing

Kenyans Facing Poor Nutrition as Supermarket Shopping Is on the Rise

June 20, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Pages

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy GDPR
  • Staff
  • Terms and Conditions

Recent Posts

  • Just 23% of Americans Are Working Out Enough in Their Spare Time
  • Poliovirus Therapy Gives Brain Cancer Patients New Hope (Study)
  • Passenger Mysteriously Dies on United Airlines flight Bound for Boston
  • Here Are Some Foods No Nutritionist Would Ever Eat
  • UN Warns of Surge in Opium-based Drugs and Cocaine Supply
  • French Jogger Detained 2 Weeks for Accidentally Crossing Border
  • Normalizing Plus Size Could Fuel Obesity Crisis (Study)

Related Articles

  • Woman working out at the gym

    Just 23% of Americans Are Working Out Enough in Their Spare Time

    Jun 29, 2018
  • Poliovirus Therapy Gives Brain Cancer Patients New Hope (Study)

    Jun 29, 2018
  • Breakfast sandwich

    Here Are Some Foods No Nutritionist Would Ever Eat

    Jun 27, 2018
  • Normalizing Plus Size Could Fuel Obesity Crisis (Study)

    Jun 25, 2018
  • The rainbow flag

    WHO Scraps Transgenderism from List of Mental Illnesses

    Jun 22, 2018
  • 456 People Dead at U.K. Hospital after Taking too Many Painkillers

    Jun 21, 2018
  • Young woman affected by depression

    If You Have PTSD You Were Likely Abused as a Child

    Jun 19, 2018
  • Obese dog on a leash

    Obese Dogs Can Help Us Better Understand How Obesity Works

    Jun 18, 2018
  • Our Brains Are Craving Combinations of Fats and Carbs (Study)

    Jun 15, 2018
  • Hungry bird with beck open

    Scientists Explain Why We Get ‘Hangry’

    Jun 13, 2018

Categories

  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Health
  • National News
  • Nature
  • Provo
  • Salt Lake News
  • Science
  • Sports
  • State News
  • Tech & Science
  • Technology
  • Uncategorized
  • West Jordan
  • West Valley City
  • World

Copyright © 2022 utahpeoplespost.com

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Site Map · Contact