Running head: HYPOTHESIS PAPER HYPOTHESIS PAPER 6 HYPOTHESIS PAPER Name Institution Affiliation Date Hypothesis and Research questions I could use to test quantitative methods Hypothesis The ability to remember does not reduce with age- It is true that the capability of an individual to remember specific facts reduces with age but the ability to retain specific events and past experiences are the same for all ages. Therefore, the belief which is held by most people that the ability to remember reduces as people grow old is false (Null, 2013). The difference is only seen in the remembrance of specific facts about the event or experience but not the event or experience itself. Age is not the primary cause of memory loss among the old people but rather health problems are the biggest contributor to this loss. Cognitive loss effects increase with age- Recent research by neuropsychologist has found that cognitive loss starts very early in the life of an individual. Most of the researchers have agreed that it starts as early as the age of 20years. This may not be noticed by most people because its effect is not greater enough to affect the daily activities of the person. The effects of cognitive effect are mainly felt between the age of 45 and 49 years. At the age of 75 years, the impacts of cognitive loss are clear and hence the statement that cognitive loss impacts increase with age. Not all types of memory are affected by the deterioration of memory- As people grow old, their memory deteriorates but this effect is not uniform in all type of memory. There are some types of memories which as an individual grow old, they improve exponentially. A good example of these types of memory is semantic which functionality improves as a person grows old. The ability of a person to remember facts remains perfect unless they have experienced other health problems- Past studies by neuropsychologists have found that the capability of an individual to remember facts remain intact as they grow old. The loss of this capability is mostly contributed to health problems which result in memory impairments which leads to cognitive loss. Research questions How is memory loss related to age? - In most cases, there is no clear relationship between memory and age. It is true that most elderly individual’s experiences memory loss but this does not necessarily relate it to age. AS an individual grows old, most of the body organs become weak which expose them to various health problems. Some health problems may lead to brain impairment and therefore result in memory loss. Does cognitive loss only affect the elderly? – No. Cognitive loss starts very early in the life of a person but its effects are not recognizable because it is not significant enough at this stage to affect the daily activities of a person. The impacts of cognitive loss increases a ...

1. Running head: HYPOTHESIS PAPER
HYPOTHESIS PAPER
6
HYPOTHESIS PAPER
Name
Institution Affiliation
Date
Hypothesis and Research questions I could use to test
quantitative methods
Hypothesis
The ability to remember does not reduce with age- It is true that
the capability of an individual to remember specific facts
reduces with age but the ability to retain specific events and
past experiences are the same for all ages. Therefore, the belief
which is held by most people that the ability to remember
reduces as people grow old is false (Null, 2013). The difference
is only seen in the remembrance of specific facts about the
event or experience but not the event or experience itself. Age
is not the primary cause of memory loss among the old people
but rather health problems are the biggest contributor to this
loss.

2. Cognitive loss effects increase with age- Recent research by
neuropsychologist has found that cognitive loss starts very early
in the life of an individual. Most of the researchers have agreed
that it starts as early as the age of 20years. This may not be
noticed by most people because its effect is not greater enough
to affect the daily activities of the person. The effects of
cognitive effect are mainly felt between the age of 45 and 49
years. At the age of 75 years, the impacts of cognitive loss are
clear and hence the statement that cognitive loss impacts
increase with age.
Not all types of memory are affected by the deterioration of
memory- As people grow old, their memory deteriorates but this
effect is not uniform in all type of memory. There are some
types of memories which as an individual grow old, they
improve exponentially. A good example of these types of
memory is semantic which functionality improves as a person
grows old.
The ability of a person to remember facts remains perfect unless
they have experienced other health problems- Past studies by
neuropsychologists have found that the capability of an
individual to remember facts remain intact as they grow old.
The loss of this capability is mostly contributed to health
problems which result in memory impairments which leads to
cognitive loss.
Research questions
How is memory loss related to age? - In most cases, there is no
clear relationship between memory and age. It is true that most
elderly individual’s experiences memory loss but this does not
necessarily relate it to age. AS an individual grows old, most of
the body organs become weak which expose them to various
health problems. Some health problems may lead to brain
impairment and therefore result in memory loss.
Does cognitive loss only affect the elderly? – No. Cognitive
loss starts very early in the life of a person but its effects are
not recognizable because it is not significant enough at this
stage to affect the daily activities of a person. The impacts of

3. cognitive loss increases as a person grow old. At the time an
individual reaches the age of 70 years, the impacts of cognitive
loss are clearly visible as it impedes the daily activities of the
person (Null, 2013). This may make some people believe that
cognitive loss only affects the elderly but this is not true.
How is memory loss related to health problems? – Health
problems are the greatest contributor to memory loss at Old age.
Some health problems make a person’s body incapable to
produce new cells to stall information. As the brain loses the
capability to produce new cells, a person’s remembering
capability becomes weak.
Is memory loss with aging inevitable? – A person’s ability to
remember general facts should remain perfect unless they are
experiencing some health problems. However, A person ability
to understand questions of what, where, and when is not
inevitable with aging. The ability to process new information
and execute more than one chore at any given time is also
inevitable with aging.
Hypothesis and Research questions I could use to test
qualitative methods
Hypothesis
Physical activities help to reduce memory loss- People who
engage themselves in physical activities like brisk walking are
less like to experience memory loss than people who don’t.
Previous studies have found that physical activities help to
boost brain function and this improves the brain’s ability to
retain facts even at older age.
Impacts of cognitive loss are severe in the elderly- Recent
research by neuropsychologist has found that cognitive loss
starts very early in the life of an individual. Most of the
researchers have agreed that it starts as early as the age of
20years (Fotuhi, 2003). This may not be noticed by most people
because its effect is not greater enough to affect the daily
activities of the person. The effects of cognitive effect are
mainly felt between the age of 45 and 49 years. At the age of 75
years, the impacts of cognitive loss are clear and hence the

4. statement that cognitive loss impacts increase with age.
Some types of memory are not affected by memory loss- As
people grow old, their memory deteriorates but this effect is not
uniform in all type of memory. There are some types of
memories which as an individual grow old, they improve
exponentially. A good example of these types of memory is
semantic which functionality improves as a person grows old
(Fotuhi, 2003).
Age does not necessarily contribute to memory loss- It is true
that the capability of an individual to remember specific facts
reduces with age but the ability to retain specific events and
past experiences are the same for all ages. Therefore, the belief
which is held by most people that the ability to remember
reduces as people grow old is false. The difference is only seen
in the remembrance of specific facts about the event or
experience but not the event or experience itself. Age is not the
primary cause of memory loss among the old people but rather
health problems are the biggest contributor to this loss.
Research questions
How would people who exercise describe their memory? –
Physical exercises help to promote the functionality of an
individual’s brain which improves their memory. This group of
people is less likely to experience memory loss even as they
age. This may be attributed to the fact that people who exercise
regularly are less likely to suffer from health problems which
/in turn reduces their chances of experiencing brain impairment.
How would you describe the inability of old people to retain
facts? – The ability of a person to retain the specifics of an
event reduced as they get older. This can be attributed to the
fact the ability of all the body organs to function normally
reduced with age. The inabilities to recall the specifics of an
event do not necessarily constitute a memory loss.
What is your understanding of episodic memory? – Episodic
memory is a type of memory that helps a person to understand
questions of what, where, and when. This type of memory is
part of a person’s long-term memory and it is the memory which

5. is affected most by aging.
How would you describe procedural memory? – Procedural
memory is the type of memory that enables people to remember
how to this. This type of memory is not affected by aging unless
the individual has experienced some health problems that may
lead to brain impairment and therefore leading to loss of this
memory.
References
Top of Form
Fotuhi, M. (2003). The memory cure: How to protect your brain
against memory loss and Alzheimer's disease. New York:
McGraw-Hill. Bottom of Form
Top of Form
National Institute on Aging. (2007). Understanding memory
loss. Bethesda, Md.: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services,
Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, National
Institute on Aging.
Bottom of Form
Top of Form
Null, G. (2013). Reboot your brain: A natural approach to

6. fighting memory loss, dementia, alzheimer's, brain aging, and
more.
Bottom of Form
Running head: MEMORY LOSS AMONG THE ELDERLY 1
MEMORY LOSS AMONG THE ELDERLY 2
Memory Loss among the Elderly
Institution Affiliation
Date
Memory Loss among the Elderly
A recent study from the University of Minnesota reported that

7. the memory deficiency among the elderly is not as high as
earlier thought. While it is true that the capability to remember
the specific facts reduces with age, other types of memory are
not affected in the same way. Koustaal (2015) reported that
while the elderly have less ability to remember specific details
than other groups, the retention of events and experiences is
almost similar. This changes the highly widespread belief of the
decrease in our ability to remember as we grow old. The
changes in memory among people as they grow old are caused
more by other health problems than age.
Most neuropsychologist agrees that cognitive loss starts at the
age of 20 years. People fail to notice the loss because it is not
significant enough to impede daily activities. However, between
45 and 49 years, people start to feel these effects while at 75
years, other people can see the impact (Clapp & Gazzaley,
2012). While it is normal to have changes in our ability to
remember, it is necessary to identify those changes that are
abnormal so that severe diseases cases are not ignored. It is a
common problem, especially among low-income communities to
confuse most memory challenges such as dementia and
Alzheimer's disease for aging and inevitable (Gard, Hölzel &
Lazar, 2014). It is noteworthy that the brain is capable of
producing new cells to stall information even at a very old age
which makes memory loss with aging not inevitable.
The deterioration of memory with age is not uniform and does
not affect all memory types at the same time in the lifespan of
an individual. In fact, studies have shown that some types of
memory such as semantic improves exponentially as one grows
old (Clapp & Gazzaley, 2012). This means that unless an
individual is having other health problems, their ability to
remember general facts should remain perfect. Also, a
procedural memory that helps recall how to do things remains
the same throughout an individual’s life. Episodic memory that
helps understand questions of what, where and when, and long-
term memory are affected most by aging (Gard et al., 2014).
Consequently, certain brain functions such as learning new

8. things, information processing and ability to perform more than
one toss deteriorate inevitably with age.
Several physiological and physical problems can result in
glitches in memory. For example, depression, infections,
substance abuse, depression, dehydration, medications, thyroid
imbalance and poor nutrition have been reported to cause
significant changes in an individual’s ability to remember.
Alzheimer's disease and dementia are the chief culprits for loss
of memory with age (Clapp & Gazzaley, 2012). It is, therefore,
necessary to attend to any challenges an individual or their
loved ones face with memory rather than ignoring them and
attributing them to age. In the hospital, a doctor should discuss
all the possible causes of the problem with a patient and get a
complete medical workup. To rule out psychological stresses
such as anxiety and depression, a comprehensive
neuropsychological evaluation should be done.
To keep up with age and ensure a healthy brain, an individual
should take precautions to minimize age-related changes. One
way of doing this is socializing and getting involved in
community activities (Aizpurua Koutstaal 2015). Also, physical
activities such as brisk walking help in boosting the brain
functionality. One also ought to train their brain on learning and
memorizing by challenging it every day with new tasks. It is
also necessary to avoid ageist stereotypes as they may cause
memory loss psychologically (Villeda et al., 2014). While age is
a factor in memory loss, its effects will be felt most by the
physical and physiological fitness of an individual.
References
Clapp, W. C., & Gazzaley, A. (2012). Distinct mechanisms for
the impact of distraction and interruption on working memory in
aging. Neurobiology of aging, 33(1), 134-148.
Aizpurua A., Koutstaal W. (2015). A matter of focus: Detailed
memory in the intentional autobiographical recall of older and
younger adults. Consciousness and Cognition, 2015; 33: 145
DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2014.12.006
Villeda, S. A., Plambeck, K. E., Middeldorp, J., Castellano, J.

9. M., Mosher, K. I., Luo, J., ... & Wabl, R. (2014). Young blood
reverses age-related impairments in cognitive function and
synaptic plasticity in mice. Nature medicine, 20(6), 659-663.
Gard, T., Hölzel, B. K., & Lazar, S. W. (2014). The potential
effects of meditation on age‐related cognitive decline: a
systematic review. Annals of the New York Academy of
Sciences, 1307(1), 89-103.
University of the Basque Country. (2015, June 5). Memory loss
among the elderly is lower than what was originally
thought. ScienceDaily. Retrieved January 17, 2018 from
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150605081613.html