Forgetting Details, Getting the Gist May Prompt False Memories in Older Adults

A study published in the Journals of Gerontology found as people age, they may be more likely to rely on schematic memory to recall the gist of an event, and their inability to remember details could lead to false memories, reports Medical Xpress . The researchers employed functional magnetic resonance imaging to monitor brain activity of 20 older adults after they memorized certain scenes and were asked to remember what objects were in the scene. The scenes were displayed for about 10 seconds. Later, they were shown pictures of objects that were either in the scene, or related to the scene, but not actually in the scene. They also were asked to look at images of objects not commonly associated to the scene. The researchers then asked the subjects which objects were in the picture to determine if they had recalled correctly, or were creating false memories. "When we look at brain activity during memory retrieval, we see increasing activity in the middle or superior temporal gyrus, which tracks increases in false memories," says Pennsylvania State University Professor Nancy Dennis. "This suggests that older adults who make the most false memories tend to show more activity in this region."