More Evidence The Aging Brain Is Easily Distracted

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(see? It's us not them. )

ScienceDaily (Dec. 7, 2008)

Canadian researchers have found more evidence that older adults aren't able to filter out distracting information as well as younger adults.

In an interesting twist, this latest discovery was made because of – rather than in spite of –the noisy environment that research participants must tolerate when having their brains scanned inside a donut-shaped magnet known as a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner. While the powerful technology can yield remarkable computerized images of the brain working to form a new memory, enabling scientists to determine with great precision which brain regions become active and for how long they remain active, the high powered magnet has an inconvenient quirk – it's noisy, especially if you're inside it.

Now scientists with the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest say that annoying noise is behind their latest discovery of unique brain activity underlying memory encoding failure – that appears to occur only in older brains.

To date, few studies have looked at what's happening in the brains of people who are having difficulty with making a new memory and the underlying neural mechanisms responsible for this break down.

more...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/...81125181035.htm

[HAL 9000 96]

Come again?

I'd love to get some machine time for some mutant mice I'll have soon.