[Xmca-l] Re: Memory, aging and culture

[mike cole <lchcmike@gmail.com>]

Ah. That explanation helps a lot.

It seems like your question is going to be very difficult to answer with
any certainty- I will be interested to see if anyone out there in xmcaland
can suggest references or research. The first issues that come to mind for
me that might be part of the picture include the status of old
age in the society in question (in simplest terms, revered versus
dismissed) and life expectancy.

I am reaching an age where not only do I experience "senior moments" (which
suggests one
look for lexical markers of a special concern) but where many people I know
or my friends
know, who are suffering from Alzheimers. It is hard to imagine someone in
rural Liberia (an example society where the elderly are both revered and
pretty scarce owing to disease and associated perils) being awfully
concerned about memory problems in old age.

All those "co-variates" of age-related memory loss make it difficult to
tease out the causes and consequences of cultural sources of loss.

mike


On Sun, Dec 8, 2013 at 9:43 AM, Laure Kloetzer <laure.kloetzer@gmail.com>wrote:

> Hi Mike,
>
> I agree the question was quick and fuzzy, sorry. I wonder to what extent
> the extended complaint on memory loss (especially loss of episodic
> memories, related to specific events of one's life) by people who are
> getting old in our current societies is related to cultural factors
> (including social expectations towards a precise memory, esp. relating to
> one's own life events, and anxiety to get old, including fear of Alzheimer
> pathology, for example). We know that the way we sleep, our sleeping
> cycles, are influenced by our culture. I guess our perception of our memory
> performance and accuracy is also influenced by cultural factors, and I
> wonder if some colleagues have been working on these topics. Which cultural
> dimensions worsen or improve the situation regarding memory problems and
> aging ?
> Thanks for your help !
> Best regards,
> LK
>
>
> 2013/12/8 mike cole <lchcmike@gmail.com>
>
>> What does the term, cultural perceptions mean, Laure? The answer to that
>> question would help a lot in answering your questions.
>>  mikec
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Dec 8, 2013 at 12:44 AM, Laure Kloetzer <laure.kloetzer@gmail.com
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> I am looking for references on aging, and how memory loss is affected by
>>> cultural perceptions. Would you have some references to point me to ?
>>> Best,
>>> LK
>>>
>>
>>
>
Status: O