Memory, Aging, and the I-function Essay -- Biology Essays Research Pap

Memory, Aging, and the I- live Folk wisdom has long noted that as individuals age, they buzz off decline in memory performance such that many call for cognitive decline and even senility as normal affects of aging, along with graying hair and wrinkled skin. The effects of time on the brain in humans is more complex than simple gradual decay until ace shuffles off the mortal coil, as it were. The implications of memory loss, and cases in which cognitive function does not decline, has implications for our understanding of how memory works in general, the treatment of weaken diseases such as Alzheimers Disease, and for the role of the I-function in learning and recollection. Memory, in general, hindquarters be broken d declare into different forms, being divided agree to the functions it serves and the duration for which it holds. Neurobiologically, to qualify as a memory, an input must both(prenominal) cause enduring compounds in the nervous system, and be affected by emotional and motivational sets (1).What is meant in that description is that a memory has to affirm some root in the brain, must induce some change so that the nervous system undergoes some physical change in addition to the ontological change brought about by being in the class of things affected by the input, and must, in turn, affect other forms of behavior. No memories argon ever neutral from a behavioral standpoint. The main in operation(p) division among memories is between so-called declarative and procedural memories. The former consists of what are termed episodic or semantic memories. Declarative memories are formed by events, and are brought back in specific contexts and with distinct meanings. Procedural Memories, on the other hand, include cla... ...rapha.htm11) Atrophy of CA1 hippocampal synapses in aging adults , http//www.centraal.nl/12) Geary, James. Should we just assert no to smart drugs? Time 5 May 1997., http//www.time.com/time/ magazine publisher/1997/int/970505/sc ience.should_we_jus.html13) Bachman, Laura. Aging and Intellectual perfromance among educated older adults , http//callisto.gcsu.edu/JNBS/article1-2.html14)This paper reflects the research and thoughts of a student at the time the paper was written for a head for the hills at Bryn Mawr College. Like other materials on Serendip, it is not intended to be authoritative but rather to help others further develop their own explorations. Web links were active as of the time the paper was affix but are not updated. Contribute Thoughts Search Serendip for Other written document Serendip Home Page http//serendip.brynmawr.edu/cgi-bin/comments