How Does Age Affect Short Term Memory?

How Does Age Affect Memory? Aging and Cognitive Function.

The gradual decline of cognitive functions begin at age of 30 years  and continues into old age. There are involved all types of cognitive functions, although some of the speech (vocabulary, the amount of information in memory and understanding) oppose the influence of age better than the executive functions (planning, design, selection of objects of a given type). The most obvious signs of aging, which manifest themselves in memory, learning ability and problem solving may be caused by a progressive decrease in speed of information processing.

The ability to remember, store and reproduce new information, remember names, decreases with age, especially in persons over 70 years. Moreover, the memory may be reduced with relative preservation of other intellectual functions. Are characteristic difficulties in remembering names of objects and events dates, despite the persistence of memory on the actual events or different traits of the man, whose name can not remember (senile forgetfulness). Also, older people sometimes can not remember the newly obtained information or new names.

This type of memory disorder is called benign senile forgetfulness, or age-related memory disorders. In this type, in contrast to Alzheimer’s disease, disorder’s growth does not occur over the years or it is minimal, so this type of memory disorder does not significantly affect the professional and everyday human activity.

Benign senile forgetfulness of varying degrees occurs in the majority of older people and can sometimes create a clinical problem that needs to be solved: is it only a component of the overall process of aging or an early symptom of Alzheimer’s disease? The solution to this problem is usually possible on the basis of a thorough assessment of cognitive status for several months or years, which is described in this article. Repetition of the heard words, for example, a sequence of numbers, orientation in time and space, the ability to learn and memorize certain terms, mathematical ability and account, as well as memory (especially long-term memory) remain at higher levels in aging than in Alzheimer’s disease.

The high intellectual level, well-organized work and improvement of hearing compensate many of the progressive disorders in aging.

Personality change in aging. Many older people are more stubborn, wordy, rigid and conservative in their judgments, others observed the opposite change: too much flexibility, uncertainty, and credulity. Often these changes are increasing the personality traits that existed during life.

Older people are more cautious, and many of them do not believe in themselves and need solid assurances of success for a decision. These changes may affect the result of psychological testing. Studies of identical twins in the elderly have shown that the formation of these traits are more important genetic factors than environmental influences.

Active, energetic personality with diverse interests, leading to a wide range of communication, easier resist the aging process than those with the opposite qualities.Persons with a tendency to depression are more confused about the prospects of aging and are prone to fear, a sense of hopelessness, suspicion and anxiety. This may explain the threefold increase in the number of suicides in the late middle and old age. In this period of life the most common mental illness is alarming depression.