Why do some older adults show declines in their spatial memory?

Why do some older adults show declines in their spatial memory?The findings from a UArizona-led study may be helpful in predicting memory decline in the early stages of dementia. Niranjana Rajalakshmi Today University Communicationsaged couple.jpeg Hippocampus, a brain region associated with memory and navigation, could contribute to the difficulty in learning new environments and locations in some older adults.HealthCollege of ScienceExpertsResearch Media contact(s)Niranjana Rajalakshmi Science Writer, University Communicationsniranjanar@arizona.edu917-415-3497 Researcher contact(s)Li Zheng Department of Psychologylizheng@email.arizona.edu520-409-0956Arne Ekstrom Department of Psychologyadekstrom@email.arizona.edu520-621-4594Aging becomes apparent in various ways, one of them being changes in memory function. But some older adults experience a faster decline in memory compared to others.Anew study by University of Arizona psychologists investigated the possible scenarios that could lead to waning memory in some older people. The researchers also studied both age-dependent and age-independent factors that could contribute to memory decline in younger and older people alike.The study suggests that the hippocampus, a brain region associated with memory and navigation, could contribute to the difficulty in learning new environments and locations in some older adults. Neural representations in the hippocampus could explain why some people have a hard time rememberin...
Source: The University of Arizona: Health - Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Source Type: research