Finding could impact how older adults remember appointments
and manage busy daily schedules
Scientists at Baycrest Health Sciences’ Rotman Research
Institute (RRI) and the University of Toronto’s Psychology Department have
found compelling evidence that older adults can eliminate forgetfulness and
perform as well as younger adults on memory tests.
Scientists used a distraction learning strategy to help
older adults overcome age-related forgetting and boost their performance to
that of younger adults. Distraction learning sounds like an oxymoron, but a
growing body of science is showing that older brains are adept at processing
irrelevant and relevant information in the environment, without conscious
effort, to aid memory performance.