Aging is not equal across memory systems.

•Hippocampus-sensitive learning and memory were impaired in old rats.•Striatum-sensitive learning and memory were spared or enhanced in old rats.•Place learning-induced rises in hippocampal glucose were muted in old rats.•Response learning-induced rises in striatal glucose were similar across ages.•Cognition shifts from hippocampal- to striatal-based solutions across the lifespan.