dopetalk does not endorse any advertised product nor does it accept any liability for it's use or misuse

This website has run out of funding so feel free to contribute if you can afford it (see footer)

Author Topic: Fundamental insight into how memory changes with age  (Read 3279 times)

Offline Chip (OP)

  • Server Admin
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Join Date: Dec 2014
  • Location: Australia
  • Posts: 6648
  • Reputation Power: 0
  • Chip has hidden their reputation power
  • Gender: Male
  • Last Login:Today at 05:53:23 PM
  • Deeply Confused Learner
  • Profession: IT Engineer
Fundamental insight into how memory changes with age
« on: October 29, 2019, 05:20:14 AM »
source: https://neurosciencenews.com/memory-change-aging-15084/

Fundamental insight into how memory changes with age

OCTOBER 17, 2019

Summary: New memories are laid down via different mechanisms in older mice compared to younger mice. Additionally, synaptic changes linked to new memory formation were harder to modify in older mice.

Source: King’s College London

New research from King’s College London and The Open University could help explain why memory in old age is much less flexible than in young adulthood.

Through experiments in mice the researchers discovered that there were dramatic differences in how memories were stored in old age, compared to young adulthood. These differences, at the cellular level, meant that it was much harder to modify the memories made in old age.

Memories are stored in the brain by strengthening the connections between nerve cells, called synapses. Recalling a memory can alter these connections, allowing memories to be updated to adapt to a new situation. Until now researchers did not know whether this memory updating process was affected by age.

The researchers trained young adult and aged mice in a memory task, finding that the animals’ age did not affect their overall ability to make new memories. However, when analysing the synapses before and after the memory task, the researchers found fundamental differences between older and younger mice.

New memories were laid down via a completely different mechanism in older animals compared to younger ones. Further, in older mice the synaptic changes linked to new memories were much harder to modify than the changes seen in younger mice.

The basic biological processes for laying down memories is shared by mammals, so it is likely that memory formation in humans follows the same processes discovered in mice.

Lead researcher Professor Karl Peter Giese, from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s, said: ‘Our results give a fundamental insight into how memory processes change with age. We found that, unlike in the younger mice, memories in the older mice were not modified when recalled. This ‘fixed’ nature of memories formed in old age was directly linked to the alternative way the memories were laid down, which our research revealed.’

The basic biological processes for laying down memories is shared by mammals, so it is likely that memory formation in humans follows the same processes discovered in mice.

‘Until now it was thought that older people should be able to form memories in just the same way as younger people, so overcoming memory problems would simply involve restoring this ability,’ added Professor Giese. ‘However, our results suggest this is not true, and that there is an important biological difference in how memories are stored in old age compared to young adulthood.’

The results may have implications for conditions where memory recall is a problem, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Professor Giese suggests that aging should be taken into consideration when treating patients with PTSD, since confronting and modifying traumatic memories is a core feature of some psychological treatments such as trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy.

friendly
0
funny
0
informative
0
agree
0
disagree
0
like
0
dislike
0
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
Our Discord Server invitation link is https://discord.gg/jB2qmRrxyD

Tags:
 

Related Topics

  Subject / Started by Replies Last post
0 Replies
705 Views
Last post December 24, 2014, 11:32:18 AM
by andrew
6 Replies
1325 Views
Last post June 16, 2016, 01:13:19 AM
by Pantopon Pete
0 Replies
695 Views
Last post April 12, 2015, 07:06:06 AM
by andrew
0 Replies
1735 Views
Last post August 14, 2015, 08:17:59 PM
by Chip
15 Replies
14119 Views
Last post November 13, 2016, 08:10:46 PM
by makita
6 Replies
8582 Views
Last post July 20, 2017, 10:05:37 PM
by meal5
1 Replies
2374 Views
Last post August 16, 2016, 12:19:19 PM
by Chip
1 Replies
5385 Views
Last post September 23, 2021, 02:50:53 PM
by williamramirez
0 Replies
4037 Views
Last post July 09, 2019, 05:28:45 AM
by Chip
0 Replies
3513 Views
Last post November 21, 2019, 06:47:09 AM
by Chip


dopetalk does not endorse any advertised product nor does it accept any liability for it's use or misuse





TERMS AND CONDITIONS

In no event will d&u or any person involved in creating, producing, or distributing site information be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, special or consequential damages arising out of the use of or inability to use d&u. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless d&u, its domain founders, sponsors, maintainers, server administrators, volunteers and contributors from and against all liability, claims, damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from the use of any part of the d&u site.


TO USE THIS WEBSITE YOU MUST AGREE TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS ABOVE


Founded December 2014
SimplePortal 2.3.6 © 2008-2014, SimplePortal