Some people have an excellent memory for words, others for numbers, and still others for music. But are there genes that regulate how the brain ages? Do genes give us our memory power during our youth? And as we age, to what extent do genes control or program the time when nerve cells degenerate in the hippocampus and frontal lobes? We are waiting for the answers to these questions, because only then will it become possible to translate this genetic knowledge into practical,
therapeutic interventions.
George Burns drank like a fish, smoked like a chimney, and did a few more exciting things on the side. Nevertheless, he lived to be over a hundred; obviously he had good longevity genes. Inherent genetic variability influences not only longevity but also intellectual functions and memory, so that a fifty-year-old may have the brain of an eighty-five-year-old, and vice versa. But in addition to genetic influences, environmental factors can magnify, and sometimes directly cause, memory loss as you grow older. These effects can be directly altered, unlike your genes. I will focus on these environmental, usually reversible, factors in a later section in this book.
Aging Weakens Recent Memory
Do you remember what you ate for lunch today? How about yesterday? And how about a week ago? For most of you, whatever happened today is still in active memory, yesterday is hovering above the “memory trash,” and the meal from a week ago is already in the trash and likely gone for good. The time factor is crucial; as you go further back in time, memories begin to vanish. The paradox is that as you grow older, it is not the old memories that disappear but more often the recent ones. Most recent memories— even if they are closer to consciousness and hence more “active”— are not hardwired in your brain as firmly as old memories, so you can understand why lapses in recent memory occur during the aging process.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
