This is no laughing matter, but I can't remember why.. <g>
"Monday July 19 1:37 PM ET
Aging brain runs out of ''storage space''
NEW YORK, Jul 19 (Reuters Health) -- The human brain begins to run out of
''storage space'' for new information after 45 years of age, according to a report.
The study's author believes that age-related memory loss may be caused by a lack
of space to store information, and not, as commonly believed, in a declining ability
to process information.
''We have a limited amount of space in our memory system,'' explains researcher Dr. H. Lee Swanson
of the University of California, Riverside. His findings are published in the July issue of the journal
Developmental Psychology.
According to conventional theory, age-related deterioration in the brain's ability to process information
may cause gradual declines in memory function.
Swanson tested this theory in a series of experiments conducted in 778 healthy individuals ranging in
age from 6 to 76 years. In tests focusing on working-memory, verbal recall and visual/spatial tasks,
subjects were asked to either recall information learned in the recent past, or to 'process' this
information (i.e., by placing it into categories) as part of the recall effort.
Contrary to theory, Swanson discovered that the subjects' memory-processing ability was not linked to
their age.
However, performance involving simple recall -- a process linked to information storage -- showed
''remarkably similar patterns'' regardless of the task performed. Test scores suggest that memory
storage and retrieval improves steadily from childhood through to early middle age, and ''peaks at
approximately age 45,'' according to Swanson -- after which it begins to decline.
In a statement issued by the American Psychological Association, Swanson said his findings support
the notion that ''as we get older, we run out of places to store new information.'' He notes that the
findings echo those of previous research, which has found that ''older adults suffer capacity deficits
across an array of memory measures.''
Swanson stresses that the amount of total memory storage capacity ''varies individually,'' meaning that
declines may occur later in some persons than others. Still, he believes that each of us will begin to lose
memory function after storage limitations reach a ''critical threshold'' at some point in our adult lives.
SOURCE: Developmental Psychology 1999;35. |
