Just like the rest of our body, our brain changes as we grow older. With the passage of time, the forgetfulness gradually starts to increase, along with the likelihood of developing memory loss.
As we get older, the functions of both our body and brain decline due to the changes brought about by the natural process of aging. Some of these changes are a normal part of aging, and when there is no underlying medical condition that leads to the loss of memory, this mild process of gradual memory declination is labeled as age-associated memory impairment.
What Is Mild-Cognitive Impairment of Memory?
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is the stage in human memory processes that occurs between the expected decline of cognitive abilities due to normal aging and the more serious memory decline that results in dementia.
Even though the brain has the capacity of renewing its neuron cells, both the hormones and proteins that protect, repair, and stimulate the growth of the brain cells also decline as we age. This is also the reason why the blood floor decreases in older people, which results in the impairment of cognitive skills and memory.
What Are the Symptoms of Age-associated Memory Impairment?
The first signs of memory declination due to the biological process of aging are a normal occurrence for the majority of aging people:
- Confusion;
- Forgetting things more often;
- Loss of short-term or long-term memory;
- Poor motor coordination;
- Having trouble finding our way back even when we are in familiar surroundings;
- Becoming more impulsive and irritable;
- Apathy;
- Becoming more depressed;
- Forgetting important events, such as appointments or social engagements;
- Forgetting what we wanted to say in the middle of a sentence or a conversation;
- Feeling increasingly overwhelmed by planning steps to accomplish a task or understanding instructions.
What Are the Risk Factors for Age-associated Memory Impairment?
Age-associated memory impairment imposes many risks, among which we find the following:
- Increasing age
- Smoking
- Depression
- Diabetes
- Lack of physical exercise
- High blood pressure
- Alcohol abuse
- Vitamin B12 deficiency
Increasing age
The biological aging of our body and brain sometimes brings the forgetfulness as a normal part of the process. In this way, recalling someone’s name from our memory may turn into a real challenge, despite the lack of any underlying neurological disorders.
Smoking
The cerebral cortex naturally loses its thickness as the time passes by, but smoking accelerates this process immensely. Namely, the nicotine from tobacco triggers a contraction of the vessels that carry oxygenated blood to the brain structures, thus leaving them without glycose, nutrition, and oxygen, which in the long term impairs their function and leads to the loss of memory.
Depression
Depression is a psychological condition that may lead to forgetfulness due to lack of concentration, focus, and clear reasoning, which occur as a result of the process of aging of the brain structures and impairment of their function.
Diabetes
Diabetes can lead to memory impairment as a result of higher than normal blood glucose levels. Namely, the increased levels of glucose in diabetics damages the neuron cells of the brain, the supportive glial cells, as well as the blood vessels in both peripheral nerves of the body and the brain. All of the aforementioned inevitably impairs the cognitive processes.
Lack of Physical Exercise
The less active people are very likely to have a mild impairment of memory, due to the problems related to brain-blood circulation. Namely, the inactivity triggers some medical conditions, such as high blood pressure, which can result in problems with the memory.
Commencing a regular exercise routine may reduce the risk of impairment of the cognitive functions of the brain by up to 50%. In addition, exercising can even slow further deterioration in the individuals affected with a mild-cognitive impairment of memory.
High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure raises the risk of age-associated memory impairment by triggering the process of early aging of the cortical structures. Hypertension causes damage to the arteries carrying oxygenated blood to the brain, which prohibits the blood-flow to the cortical structures and leads to an impaired memory.
Alcohol Abuse
Addiction to alcohol can result in damage to the brain structures, which in turn can lead to the loss of memory.
Vitamin B12 Deficiency
Cobalamin, or vitamin B12, is involved in the metabolism of all cells in the human body. It is especially responsible for the health and functionality of the brain cells. For this reason, the lack of Vitamin B12 can cause various problems with the central nervous system, including memory loss.
Fun Facts
Did you know?
- Memory is merely an electric impulse.
- Almost 40% of the people over the age of 65 experience some form of memory loss.
- Leading a healthy, active lifestyle has a very positive impact on the memory processes and protects mild forms of age-related memory loss from future decline.
- Age-associated memory impairment may increase the risk of developing dementia, Alzheimer’s disease or other neurological conditions.
- Since the brain is capable of producing new brain cells at any age, a significant memory loss does not always occur as a result of the aging process of the brain.
- Declination of memory may start to display its symptoms after 42 years of age, but the memory sharpness is mostly affected after the age of 60.
- Episodic memory is particularly affected by age-related memory impairment and is developed only in humans.
- Episodic memory is the ability of the brain to collect, integrate, and store, specific details of an event or feeling. After the complex process (which begins in the hippocampus) is completed, dedicated brain structures create ‘episodes’ of our personal past happenings.
- Just like with the muscles – if we don’t use our memory often, we’ll lose it!
- Hippocampus is the area of the cerebral cortex which is most severely affected by age-associated memory impairment. This is due to the fact that this brain structure is involved in the formation and retrieval of memories.