As the brain’s ability to encode the things that we hear and see slowly deteriorates, the brain adapts by slowing down the pace at which it operates. Imagine that you are out at dusk, trying hard to figure out what you see in the distance. You must look at it for a longer time than you would in the bright of day to make it out. In the same way, the brain adjusts the time that it records incoming information for longer and longer periods. It takes longer and longer for the brain’s machinery to decide what it is hearing or seeing. As a result, the brain has difficulty keeping up.
For instance, at times it can no longer follow rapid conversations, causing us to disengage from the conversation or to ask people to repeat what they said. The brain is still trying to encode the first few syllables when the talker is midway through the sentence. Storage of this unclear, fuzzy and partial signal is further weakened by low neuromodulator production. As a result, when the brain tries to remember the conversation later, it has trouble doing so.