A primer on memory in aging and Alzheimer's disease

Memory is a complex and difficult area for researchers, physicians, and caregivers of the elderly. Webster's Dictionary describes memory as "the power or process of reproducing or recalling what has been learned and retained, esp. through associative mechanisms." As Squire writes: "The concepts of learning and memory are closely related. Learning is the process of acquiring new information, while memory refers to the persistence of learning in a state that can be revealed at a later time." This overview introduces one of the constructs currently being used to describe the memory process. Memory, as with many other functions in aging, may have some correlation with chronologic age as well as with disease and nondisease factors. The methods used to study memory are important in defining "disease free" memory loss, "disease related" memory loss, and in describing the influence of other variables on performance in memory testing.