BALTIMORE, May 13 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say memory problems in old age occur because pathways in the brain become degraded and the brain cannot accurately "file" new information.
Johns Hopkins University neuroscientist Michael Yassa says as pathways to the hippocampus -- the area of the brain that stores memories -- deteriorate, the brain cannot accurately store new information as memories, a university release said.
Instead, he said, the brain will often offer up an old memory that is similar, leading to confusion.
"As we get older, we are much more susceptible to 'interference' from older memories than we are when we are younger," Yassa said.
In other words, when faced with an experience similar to what it has encountered before -- like, "where did I park the car?" -- an aging brain tends to recall old information it already has stored instead of filing new information and being able to retrieve that.
The result can leave one wandering about a parking lot, wondering why one can't remember where the car is.
"Maybe this is also why we tend to reminisce so much more as we get older: because it is easier to recall old memories than make new ones," Yassa said.
