Strokes so tiny they are termed ''silent'' may be linked to memory loss in older adults. CBS News reports:

Previously, experts thought that memory loss among older adults was caused by deterioration in the hippocampus, the part of the brain involved in memory and other functions. Although that is still true, study researcher Adam Brickman, PhD, says his new research adds another possible cause to the list.

"What our study suggests is, even when we account for the decline in memory attributed to hippocampal shrinkage or degeneration, that strokes ... play an additional role in the memory decline," Brickman says. He is the Herbert Irving assistant professor of neuropsychology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Typically, he says, stroke has been linked to loss of mental abilities such as how fast we process information or attention, but not necessarily memory.

The new research is published online in the journal Neurology.

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