The Memory problems Represent an irritating or worrying situation and, in many cases, it is a barrier to assume responsibility or to perform any routine successfully (Carrigan & Barkus, 2016).
When forgetfulness begins to occur frequently it is easy to ask: Is it normal for me to forget so many things? Is this a symptom of something more serious? Will I have a dementia?
Next we will describe the processes of memory and its relation with age and pathologies.
What is an everyday forgetfulness?
Not remembering the name of someone we just met, the place of the keys or forgetting a phone number are considered memory failures that we can all have on a day to day basis. (Harvard Hatlh Publications, 2013).
These can occur at any age, usually because we do not pay enough attention. However, as we grow older, we worry about these and wonder what their meaning might be.
Therefore, healthy people can experience this type of memory loss. However, some are more evident as age increases, unless they are extreme and persistent, do not have to be considered indicators of a memory deficit (Harvard Hatlh Publications, 2013).
Thus, when these forgetfulness interferes significantly with daily activities, they may constitute a relevant indicator of Mild cognitive impairment (Calero-García et al., 2014).
At present, it is not known exactly all the factors that can increase the occurrence of this type of cognitive failures. However, it seems to be that aging is associated with a poorer performance of cognitive functions and more specifically of the memory (Carrigan & Barkus, 2016).
In addition, the improvement of diagnostic and diagnostic techniques has considerably increased the number of cases diagnosed with dementia. This fact has therefore led to the emergence of many concerns and anxiety On the condition of this type of pathologies in the middle-aged population (Carrigan & Barkus, 2016).
What kind of forgetfulness is normal?
The Harvard Medical School , In one of his health publications has pointed out a list of six normal memory problems:
1. Temporality
As time goes on it is normal for us to tend to forget certain events. We are likely to forget some of the information we have just learned; However, as it is used, they will last. Hence the memories we use frequently will be more resistant to forgetfulness (Harvard Hatlh Publications, 2013).
Although any forgetfulness may concern us, numerous experimental studies show that when information is not used, these memories weaken until we lose them, giving way to more useful memories (Harvard Hatlh Publications, 2013).
The best strategy to keep different information or memories in our memory is practice. That is, the more we talk or think about that information, the more we use it and therefore the more resistant it will be to oblivion. When we try to memorize specific information it is very useful to repeat it in different essays (ARRP, 2016).
2. Lack of attention
Many of our memory failures are caused by inattention. For example, many times we are not able to remember where we put our mobile phone a second ago and believe we have lost it, but this is because at first we have not paid attention where we have placed it (Harvard Hatlh Publications , 2013).
When we are thinking about something else or doing different activities simultaneously, it is likely that we will not codify all the information efficiently or, on the other hand, that we do not remember doing something we had planned: attending an appointment or taking a treatment (Harvard Hatlh Publications, 2013).
If we focus our attention on what you are doing or thinking at a specific time, it will help us solve many of these failures. Also, when we forget what we are doing, it is very useful to mentally retrace our steps (ARRP, 2016).
3. Locks
Surely many times you have asked a question and you have felt that you know it but you are not able to find an answer, you have it on the tip of the tongue?? (Harvard Hatlh Publications, 2013).
This is one of the examples of memory blocking, when we want to access a specific memory and temporarily we are not able to access it. In many cases this inability is due to the fact that different memories or similar memories are interfering with the retrieval of information (Harvard Hatlh Publications, 2013).
Different studies show that these blockades are more frequent as age increases. For example, when we are not able to remember a name and say several of them before the correct one (Harvard Hatlh Publications, 2013).
In spite of all this, most of us are able to recover the locked memory in no longer time than a few minutes (Harvard Hatlh Publications, 2013).
It is often helpful to mentally review or write down the different elements or facts that we need to explain before talking about them. In addition, in a moment of blocking we can help to remember the contextual details of the information that we want to recover (ARRP, 2016).
Four. Wrong assignments
Many times we remember some fact with precision but we assign erroneous details referring to the time, place or people involved. For example: we remember a specific news but we do not remember if we have read it or we have been told. At other times, we believe that we have an original thought when we have actually read or heard it at another time, but we forget how we have acquired it (Harvard Hatlh Publications, 2013)
These types of events are considered erroneous attributions, and in the same way as other memory failures, it is common for them to become more frequent with increasing age (Harvard Hatlh Publications, 2013).
Age, workload, stress , Among other factors, make it difficult to obtain details of the facts, since it is possible to present difficulties of attention or concentration, and even to process information quickly and efficiently (Harvard Hatlh Publications, 2013).
On the other hand, it is normal that the memories more remote or older, are susceptible of erroneous attributions.
To avoid erroneous attributions it may be useful to mentally draw the keys and details of the event to accurately activate the memory. In addition, focusing on the place, time, people, cause of the event and conversation topics can help us to efficiently and accurately retrieve memories (ARRP, 2016).
5. Sugestionability
The information we learn prior to an event can be accidentally incorporated into the memory of a fact or incident, although that experience does not incorporate the details we are adding to it (Harvard Hatlh Publications, 2013).
Suggestion can deceive our memory so that it thinks a fact is real.
6. Bias
Even the most accurate memories do not reflect 100% reality. All the facts that we store in our memory will be filtered? Through our harms, personal experiences, beliefs, knowledge, and even mood (Harvard Hatlh Publications, 2013).
All these circumstances will be biases that alter the memories that we are codifying or recovering.
7. Persistence
There are certain memories that are very resistant to forgetting, especially those related to traumatic events, negative feelings or fears. These memories may reflect reality or be a negative distortion (Harvard Hatlh Publications, 2013).
Specifically, people suffering from depression or posttraumatic stress disorder may have recurring and highly disturbing negative memories (Harvard Hatlh Publications, 2013).
Are changes in memory due to age signs of illness?
In middle-aged and older adults, especially at the age of 60, more than half express concerns about their memory (Harvard Hatlh Publications, 2015).
However, as mentioned above, there are many mild forgetfulness that are the product of different conditions and not clinical signs of some kind of disease. These forgetfulnesses are rather the product of structural or functional changes as a result of age (Harvard Hatlh Publications, 2015).
As we age, we may experience different changes that may lead to failures or deficits in some cognitive functions. For example, it may take more time to process information or retrieve a response from our memory.
This reduction in processing speed can often be confused with the presence of memory problems; However, if given enough time, the information can be efficiently retrieved (Smith et al., 2016).
In general, memory loss associated with age is related to (Smith et al., 2016):
- Volume Reductions hippocampus .
- Reduction of hormonal factors
- Decreased blood profusion in different brain regions.
In spite of these conditions, the increase of the age will not always suppose the existence of a loss of memory although to a minimum level.
Our brain is capable of producing new Neurons at any age. Although it is true that neurogenesis occurs essentially during the developmental stage, numerous studies have described it in adults.
Lifestyle, health habits, physical exercise, routines and daily activities will be an important factor both in the regulation of adult neurogenesis and in the optimal maintenance of all our cognitive functions (Smith et al. 2016).
When are pathological forgetfulness?
In the case of young adults, when forgetfulness appears suddenly, repetitively and is global, that is, they affect many domains or a significant time interval, we must consider this fact as a sign of alarm at the possible existence of a hemispheric commitment or brain damage .
In addition, in the case of older adults, we must consider some of the following signs that could be indicative of a possible cognitive deterioration (Smith et al., 2016):
- Significant difficulties to perform simple tasks (dressing, washing dishes, paying the purchase) and forget how they do things that have been done daily or very frequently.
- Difficulty or inability to remember / describe situations in which the forgetting of some information has interfered in the performance of some activity.
- To be lost or disoriented in known places; Difficulty / inability to follow directions.
- Difficulty in making decisions.
CONCLUSIONS
The number of medical consultations related to memory problems has increased considerably. In most cases they are about everyday forgetfulness or normal memory failures.
We must take into account that these failures are due to different conditions such as inattention or work overload and therefore are"remediable".
When we notice that we have difficulty remembering some things, we must pay attention to both its frequency and the volume of oblivion. Although we all have to alarm, it is rare that a daily forgetfulness is indicative of the development of some type of illness or dementia.
References
- AARP. (2016). 6 Types of Normal Memory Lapses . Retrieved from AARP: http://www.aarp.org/health/brain-health/info-05-2013/exercising-tips-for-brain-health.html.
- APS. (2012). When We Forget to Remember?? Failures in Prospective Memory Range From Annoying to Lethal . Retrieved from the Association for Psychological Science: http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/when-we-forget-to-remember-failures-in-prospective-memory-range-from-annoying-to -lethal.html.
- Calero-García, M., Navarro-González, E., Gómez-Ceballos, L., López Pérez-Díaz, A., Torres-Carbonell, I., & Calero-García, M. (2008). Forgetfulness and memory: relations between objective and subjective memory of old age. Rev Esp Geriatr Gerontol, 43 (5), 299-307.
- Carrigan, N., & Barkus, E. (2016). A systematic review of cognitive failures in daily life: Healthy popularions. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 63 , 29-42.
- Harvard Medical School. (2013). Forgetfulness?? 7 types of normal memory problems . Retrieved from Harvard Health Publications: http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/forgetfulness-7-types-of-normal-memory-problems.
- Harvard Medical School. (2015). Improving Memory: Understanding age-related memory loss . Retrieved from Harvard Health Publications: http://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/improving-memory-understanding-age-related-memory-loss.
- Smith, M., Robinson, L., & Segal, R. (2016). Age-Related Memory Loss . Retrieved from HelpGuide: http://www.helpguide.org/articles/memory/age-related-memory-loss.htm.