Information overload robs the elderly of memory

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In today's world, the elderly are forced to process very a lot of information. Researchers from the Rotman Research Institute found that this can disrupt the formation of memories, which weakens memory.

When we are young, our brains are able to generate a huge number of memories related to certain events or experiences. But with age, this ability deteriorates, especially in terms of filtering unnecessary information. Over the years, the brain gets worse at throwing out those memories that we don't need, because of which it is simply cluttered with information that blocks the effective extraction of the necessary information. These are the conclusions of the study, which covers observations lasting more than 20 years.

Scientists have proven that this mess with information in the brain prevents elderly people from quickly recalling certain events and details. This is the reason for the deterioration of memory with age. The brain is simply overloaded with information, we cannot throw it out to make room for new data. Because of this, the memories are simply not retrieved. Information overload explains the paradox of aging – there is a perception that with age we acquire wisdom and knowledge, but our memory also deteriorates with age.

When elderly people try to remember a specific detail, they feel great difficulty, because this detail is connected with other details in the mind, and they must be filtered out. On the plus side, however, older adults are better able to use all this vast amount of information to make decisions, the researchers found. However, it is in this area that additional research is needed.