Your memory is going to change as you get older, even if your brain stays healthy. Your recall might get slower, names and dates might become more slippery, and you might struggle to recall some events. It’s just a fact of life. Now a new study published in Psychology and Aging is painting a more nuanced picture of age-related memory loss.
Psychologists from the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom rounded up 37 young adults (between the ages of 18 and 33) and 37 older adults (between the ages of 60 and 85) to test their memory recall. The two groups were asked to recount either specific episodic memories or more repeated categoric memories in as much detail as possible after being prompted by cue words.
For example, if the cue word was “karaoke,” a specific memory might be, “I got drunk at a karaoke bar last weekend and embarrassed myself singing ‘Sweet Caroline,’ but the crowd loved it,” while a categoric memory might be, “When I do karaoke, my go-to songs are anything by Neil Diamond because we have the same range, and I usually stick to beer to keep my pipes lubricated.”
Read more: “Your Memories Are Like Paintings”
During one task, the participants were prompted to recall three memories of a specific type (either the specific episodic memories or the repeated categoric memories) for three words. During another task, they were asked to switch between the two memory types during their trip down memory lane. The researchers then evaluated how well they followed instructions and how much detail they were able to offer.
Switching between the two different memory types is more cognitively demanding, and the team found that both groups showed declines in memory performance. But the older cohort struggled in some key areas. “Older adults were particularly affected in one area—they were less accurate at recalling more mundane repetitive memories like commuting to work under switching conditions,” study author Louis Renoult explained in a statement. “Interestingly, their ability to recall specific memories like a birthday party was less affected by the task-switching challenge.”
Still, the content of their specific memories showed some differences. Older adults struggled to remember more details of events—sights, sounds, emotions, and so on. Instead, they relied on more semantic information covering general knowledge and interpretations when recalling specific events.
“When older adults recall events, the richness of those memories may be reduced,” Renoult said. “This shift may reflect changes in underlying brain systems involved in memory, particularly those responsible for retrieving detailed contextual information and managing complex cognitive tasks.”
While the sample size is relatively small, these findings may reflect how our memory changes as we get older—our vivid recollections fading into more generalized reminiscences. But the implications for everyday life aren’t all bad. Or as Renoult put it, “Generalized memories can support wisdom, pattern recognition, and efficient communication, even if the finer details are lost.” 
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