Why Old People Remember Things

The extraordinary persistence of early impressions, when the mimi seems alraost to have ceased to register uew ones, is in remarkuble a-cordanoc with the law of imtrition. It is a physiological faet that decline essentially consista in the diniinution of the formative activity of the organism. Now it is wheu the braiu is growing that a definite direction can be most strongly and persisteutly givon to its strueture. Thus the habita of thought come to be formed, and those nerve tracks laid down which (as the physiologist believes) constitnte the mechanism of association, by the time the brain has reached its maturity ; and the nutrition of the organ continúes to keep up the same mechanism in aeoordance with the demands of its activity so long as it is being called into nse. Further, during the entire peiiod of vigorous manhood, the brain, like musoles, may bè taking on some additionalgrowth, either as a whole or in special parts, new tissue being developed and kept up by the nutritive process, in nccordrjice with the modes of action ti whieh the organ is trained. Aod in this manner a store of " impressions" or traces is aeeumulati d which may be brougfit witliin the sphere of consciousness whenever the right suggesting strings are touched. But as the nutritivc activity diminishes, the "waste" beoomes more active than the renovation ; and it would seem that while (to use a commercial analogy) the " old-established houses" keep their ground, tliese later firma whose basis is less secure ure the first to crumble away - the nutritive activity, which yet sulnces to niaintaiii the original structure not bemgicapable of keeping the snbseqnent aaditfotfBK! it in working order. ïhi e.nlier degeatjtation of later ïormed structures is ; general fact perfectly familiar to the