Older Adults Share Fewer Memories as They Age

A study published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience suggests that the older a person is, the less likely he or she is to share memories, or describe them in as much detail as their younger counterparts do, reports Psych Central . University of Arizona (UArizona) researchers explored the issue by electronically "eavesdropping" on 102 cognitively healthy older adults' conversations "in the wild" with a smartphone app, rather than under laboratory conditions. Older individuals shared fewer memories, and were less detailed in describing them the older they were. "There are a number of regions in the brain that seem to play an important role in how often we think about our personal past or future," said UArizona Professor Matthew Grilli. "These brain areas tend to show change with older age, and the idea is that because of these changes, older adults might reflect less on their personal past and future when they're talking with other people." Grilli added that recalling and sharing memories can help older people connect with others, guide planning and decision-making, and help attain meaning in other life events. "One of the reasons we're really interested in better tracking cognitive decline is because we're learning that diseases like Alzheimer's are impacting cognition probably decades before obvious symptoms arise," he said. "The idea that we can develop tools that can track change earlier is intriguing, and it will be important to see if smartphone apps can do that."