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Published online 4 January 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.408
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Ageing makes the imagination wither
Memory decline in old age may also mean a less vivid imagination.
Old age does more than stealthily steal away our most cherished memories: it also seems to diminish our ability to imagine things.
This finding, detailed in the January issue of the journal Psychological Science1, supports the ‘prospective brain’ hypothesis, the idea that imagining the future and remembering the past rely on the same neural machinery.
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“An intriguing possibility raised by the hypothesis is that the primary role of human memory may not be to remember the past, but to imagine and prepare for the future.â€â€”This is a rather limited hypothesis as compared to one of the more dynamic mechanisms of our memory system in our brain, that has been extensively and empirically characterized, localized, and defined as “memophorescenicity†in my 2006 seminal book “Gods, Genes, Conscience†(Chapter 15: The Universal Theory of Mind, in general; Chapter 15.4: Memory Modulation and Recall: A New Hypothesis of Psychic Imagery, Perceptivity, Creativity, and Reflectivity, in particular). Thank you all for your kind attention and cooperation in this matter—Author “Decoding Scientism†(work in progress since July 2007).
[Edit:] "An intriguing possibility raised by the hypothesis is that the primary role of human memory may not be to remember the past, but to imagine and prepare for the future." -- This is a rather limited hypothesis as compared to one of the more dynamic mechanisms of our memory system in our brain, that has been extensively and empirically characterized, localized, and defined as "memophorescenicity" in my 2006 seminal book "Gods, Genes, Conscience" (Chapter 15: The Universal Theory of Mind, in general; Chapter 15.4: Memory Modulation and Recall: A New Hypothesis of Psychic Imagery, Perceptivity, Creativity, and Reflectivity, in particular). Thank you all for your kind attention and cooperation in this matter -- Author "Decoding Scientism" (work in progress since July 2007).
Wisdom or Disillusion, Not Decline I'm 83 yrs old. I posit that There Is No More Memory Decline and No Less Vivid Imagination In 'Old Age' than in other 'ages'. ( and that in Nature 'old age' requires a definition!). And I further posit that what appears to 'still-in-surroundings involved' persons as 'memory or imagination decline' in some persons is simply an expression of experience-sobriety-based wisdom that changes-modifies radically the personally-ascribed significance of memories and of aspirations. Some 'old timers' arrive at the realization that afer all life is actually a Real Virtual Affair, that it pops in and out of existence in its matrix, which is the energy constrained in Earth's biosphere, and that each of us is just one of the myriad poppers. Dov Henis
Imagination is an ability that increases with practice and decreases without use. Many people in our culture are taught they don't have an imagination or that they aren't creative when they are young and so in elementary school they stop developing those abilities. This means that the older they are, the less they have practiced this ability and the more years they have heard and incorporated into their self-concept the belief that they are not creative or that they have no imagination. I think this has much more to do with why older adults tested lower in imagination than younger adults. I am a drama teacher and a drama therapist. I have worked with people of all ages and ability levels and have found that often at the beginning of working anyone older than 10 there is a need to re-teach how to imagine and a period of time during which the student needs to practice being creative before they begin to believe in themselves as imaginative beings. Once someone has been given permission to use their imagination and is warmed up to it, they are again capable and continue to improve at it. This is just as true for the average college student in my Creative Drama class as it is for the 90 year olds in my Acting for Fun class at the local retirement community. Sally Bailey, MFA, MSW, RDT/BCT
Having a thesis is fine. Publishing it as a peer reviewed article is fine. But the caveat to this honor is to accept the fact that both the authors of origin, the referees, and the publisher have done a disservice by not offering an alternative view to such a significant topic. This leaves many individuals lingering hopelessly if they have any such symptoms. It is an emotional crisis when from day to day small things are overlooked, misread, or misplaced. Suddenly, as how our minds are consumer trained, we are ill, sick, and irreparable humans. I am 73 years of age and in the prime of my imagination years. My memory is better now than 12 years ago when I began mind exercises in preparation for my "dooms day" senior years. In fact, I am a bit frightened by my increased mental capacity. Will I implode? I doubt it. And I am normal. I am sought as a tactician in the sport of sail boat racing; consult, in multi disciplinary tasks to persons 20 years my juniors. I talk, joke, and empathize with young 30 year old married couples with their first child. Your printing of this work is a disservice to those who might become my intellectual peers, given a tinkle of hope. Ray Tostado AA, BFA, MA Los Angeles, Ca.
As an older American myself, I don't think older people should take this as an affront. Just as the average IQ of the population has increased over the last generations, so, too, might imaginative power. Young people are exposed to many more graphic images than older people were at their age, so they have more neural connections in place to start with. The only way to truly monitor a decline is to repeatedly test the same individuals over several decades.
To the author: Did you test or consider the possibility that older persons are being realistic, not limited or dimished, when it comes to imagining? Or that there might be'interest' or hormonal factors at play?
Imagination is very hard to measure objectively. For example, imagine wearing a red hat. Can you tell if my my red hat is much, much brighter than yours? And if you could, would such differences an indication of a better-preserved imagination? Maybe as a child, the neighborhood bully wore a red hat, and you don't like to think about red hats, so you don't add detail to your account. How to control for that? Etcetera...
What fascinating and thought-provoking research! Like many of your older commentators I find it difficult to relate to personally. I believe I still have a rich imagination (at 56). What I'm finding however is that my imagination is causing me increasing discomfort. When I was younger I could see myself doing things in the interminable future. Now I fully grasp how limited time is, I have have to relegate my imagined plans to my next life. I'm planning life 9 in my current form and that's before even thinking of progression to something higher!
As someone of 60, I also did not find the ideas proposed in this article offensive or derogatory - instead I found them very intersting. I thought about the development of 'pretend' and fantasy play in early childhood and how that supports the development of thinking from a variety of perspectives. Most children have very powerful imaginations - not all though - children from difficult backgrounds are often not so 'imaginative'. Perhaps imagination is rooted not just in the past combined with the present and the future and linked with our emotional world and sense of time.