• Question: Why is memory affected by age? Is it actual cell loss?

    Asked by pewdiepie to Adam, Joanna, Louise S, Louise W, Marcus on 12 Nov 2012.
    • Photo: Louise Stanley

      Louise Stanley answered on 12 Nov 2012:

      Yes brain cells do die which will lead to memory loss but other things happen as well such as the connections between nerve cells break down and the ability of the cells to communicate correctly is reduced. Nobody still really knows how memory works so there are likely to be many more answers to this question still to find.

    • Photo: Adam Paige

      Adam Paige answered on 14 Nov 2012:

      unlike most other cells in the body, brain cells do not get replaced when they are damaged. So as we get older we lose more and more brain cells.

    • Photo: Louise Walkin

      Louise Walkin answered on 15 Nov 2012:

      Yes, Adam is right. Nerve cells are very delicate and once damaged it is very difficult to repair or regenerate them, like after a stroke or in a brain disease like Alzheimer’s. There are certain parts of our body that can regenerate like the liver, if you remove a big portion of it, it can literally grow back! Most other parts of the body can fix itself with a normal wound response, sometimes with the help of stitches and bandages!
      I sometimes feel that my brain is a bit too full – like I’m at full capacity and that I can’t take in anymore information! However I’m sure that it doesn’t work that way and its probably just a feeling rather than your brain literally being too full! 🙂

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