Saturday, February 12, 2022

Do you have “cluttered memoryscapes?"

Sarah Sloat reports,
There’s a paradox in memory science: Empirical evidence and life experience both suggest older adults have more knowledge of the world. However, in laboratory settings, they generally perform worse on memory tests than younger adults. What can explain the disparity?
The answer might be “clutter,” according to a review of memory studies published Friday in the journal Trends in Cognitive Science.
“Many of us have the experience of being unable to recall a person’s name or locate where we left our keys, only to have that information pop into our head later,” he added.
Amer and colleagues argue this happens more frequently as people get older, not because they are losing brain plasticity or progressing toward amnesia, but because of these “cluttered memoryscapes.” Memories include the target information — what one is being asked to recall — and irrelevant information.
Read more here: https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/memory-issues-older-people-result-clutter-rcna15133

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