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According to Dr. Angela Troyer, a Baycrest psychologist who directs the Memory and Aging program, procedural memory is fairly stable, which makes it easy to keep practised skills, such as knitting or playing the piano. Some aspects of semantic memory, such as vocabulary or frequently used facts, also stay strong. Sensory memory is also hearty, allowing people to enjoy familiar music and aromas late in life. And motor memory appears to be the most robust. On the other hand, Dr. Troyer says there are early declines in recent episodic memory, making it harder to recall a name you just learned, and in prospective memory, making it more difficult to plan ahead. That said, the regular use of a day-timer or personal digital assistant, making lists or setting a timer to remind you when to do something, can certainly help.

It’s important to know that learning, without which there is no remembering, remains both possible and essential as you age. That cliché about old dogs not learning new tricks should roll over and play dead. Dr. Proulx says, “A lot of stereotypes are quite wrong. Healthy people are always striving to learn new things.” Even when explicit learning, or learning while knowing you are learning, deteriorates in people with dementia, some degree of implicit learning, or learning without awareness, stays intact, an exciting finding that allows for creative interventions with these patients.

 

 

Finally, memory doesn’t suddenly take a dive after the big five-oh. Changes are gradual and must be viewed in context. For example, Dr. Proulx says, “If someone is worried about their memory at 30, it could be depression or stress.” Middle-aged memory loss may be caused by medical problems (diabetes, thyroid, insomnia, medications), by anxiety (which zaps working memory), or by multi-tasking (zero attention + zero learning = zero memory). It’s important to know that learning, without which there is no remembering, remains both possible and essential as you age.

Of course, as people start to age, memory loss gets a little trickier. Up to one in every four or five people may experience slight abnormalities with memory or language relative to other people their age. People with this mild cognitive impairment are at greater risk of developing more serious problems, such as Alzheimer's disease.

Although only long-term studies will reveal the roles genes and environment play in causing clinically significant memory loss, recent research has discovered two protective factors to which young adults should pay attention. Baycrest psychologists, including Drs. Mellanie Springer, Randy McIntosh, Gordon Winocur and Cheryl Grady, found that older adults with more years of schooling, especially at the college and university levels, seem to tap into a “cognitive reserve” that buffers them against disease. Similarly, Baycrest researchers have found that active lifelong bilingualism delayed the onset of the symptoms of dementia by about four years (the best available medication stalls them by mere months). Building brain connections and flexibility early in life may pay off decades later.

Currently, though, researchers believe that perhaps every other person over 85 shows some signs of progressive cognitive problems. Even in the worst case scenarios, notes Dr. Proulx, a thoughtfully designed environment can help to compensate. That’s why, for example, a residence for people with dementia may line the hallway to the dining room with pictures of food. “With sensory memory, familiarity works,” he explains. “These people don’t have to imagine it…the environment provides it.”

 

 

 

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