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News reports of research into memory June 2002

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June 2002

A German study has found that a region of the auditory cortex was more active in professional musicians listening to tones of varying frequencies compared to amateur musicians and considerably more active than that of non-musicians. More surprisingly, there was a very significant difference in the amount of "grey matter" in the part of the auditory cortex called the Heschl's gyrus. The structure contained 536 to 983 cubic millimetres of grey matter in professionals, 189 to 798 cubic millimetres in amateurs, and 172 to 450 cubic millimetres in non-musicians.
The report appeared in the July 1 issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience. Full reference
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_2044000/2044646.stm

The cerebellum has long been associated with motor skills and coordination. A new study has shown that, although it is active when we are engaging in movement, it is not active when we are learning new motor skills. The findings suggest the cerebellum is involved in the improvement in performance gained through practice, rather than the initial learning of the motor sequence. This research may lead to a better understanding that ultimately sees the development of better rehabilitation strategies for patients with cerebellar disease. It also points to an intriguing difference between learning a motor skill and improving it.
The findings appear in the June 14 issue of Science. Full reference
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2002-06/vrcs-sop061302.php

"Childhood amnesia" is the term given to the well-known phenomenon of our almost complete lack of memory for the experiences of our very early childhood. Exactly why it occurs is long been a subject of debate. New research suggests the answer may lie in the very limited vocabulary of very young children. A study of 2- and 3-year-old children found that children can only describe memories of events using words they knew when the experience occurred. When asked about the experimental situation (involving a "magic shrinking machine") a year later, the children easily remembered how to operate the device, but were only able to describe the machine in words they knew when they first learned how to operate it.
The findings appeared in the May 3 issue of the journal Psychological Science. Full reference

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