Index for 2003
December 2003
Grape juice may help memory in older adults
Nicotine patch may alleviate 'senior moments'
Statins associated with rare cases of temporary amnesia
Estrogen combines with stress to impair memory
More light shed on how episodic memories are formed
Sensory processing different in people with dyslexia
Reducing the trauma of traumatic memories
Hippocampal damage seen in those with alcoholic memory disorder and those with Alzheimer's
November 2003
Emotions help memory, at the cost of other memories
Low self-esteem 'shrinks brain'
Drugs to improve memory may worsen memory in some
More support for importance of stimulation to protect against cognitive decline
Magnetic resonance imaging may help predict future memory decline
Memory-enhancing drugs for elderly may impair working memory and other executive functions
Population level of frontotemporal dementia
Learning involves the death of neurons too
Initial steps in a test for false memory
More support for value of antioxidants in protecting against age-related cognitive decline
Beneficial effects of bilingual learning
Immature motion pathways in the brain associated with poor reading skills
Growing evidence cerebellum involved in language
Maturation of the human brain mapped
Sleep deprivation affects working memory
Evolution of the mammalian brain
Questioning the medial temporal lobe
Enzyme that turns fleeting experience into lasting memory
Rat study indicates dangers of stress during adolescence
October 2003
Stages of memory clarified in sleep studies
FGF-2 implicated in adult neurogenesis
First steps in developing expertise
Patterns of brain activity differ with musical training, not cultural familarity
Childhood environment important in staving off cognitive decline
Both languages active in bilingual speakers
Drug found to improve memory in PTSD sufferers
September 2003
Estrogen improves verbal memory in postmenopausal women
Menopause not linked to memory decline
High blood pressure may be a factor in "senior moments"
Effects of high blood pressure on cognition may have been overstated
More learned about how spatial navigation works in humans
Study of alcoholics reveals connection between cerebellum and prefrontal cortex
Too much exercise may be bad for the brain
Cognitive abilities are fairly stable and may be correlated with longevity
August 2003
You may not be able to recall it, but it influences you anyway
Amphetamines and cocaine can damage the brain’s ability to learn from new experiences
Failing recall not an inevitable consequence of aging
Creatine boosts working memory and general intelligence
Alcohol's benefits for cognition may be overstated
Selective erasure of memories one step closer
Key brain link in associative learning directly observed
Mouse study suggests new approach to reducing age-related cognitive decline
July 2003
Music instruction aids verbal memory
Higher education or larger brain size may protect against dementia
More support for the theory that sleep is necessary to consolidate memories
More evidence of long-lasting cognitive deficits in pre-term babies
Minimal long-term effects of marijuana use on learning and memory
Short-term dyslexia treatment strengthens key brain regions
Imaging study points to the importance of early stimulation in making good readers
Impact of 'generative learning' on false memories
June 2003
More evidence that mental exercise helps prevent or postpone dementia
Effects of Alzheimer's disease may be influenced by education
How memory helps make life pleasant
Older adults better at forgetting negative images
Alcohol damages day-to-day memory function
Eating methylmercury contaminated fish causes cognitive problems in adults
Malnutrition in early life associated with long-lasting cognitive deficits
Complex mental tasks interfere with drivers' ability to detect visual targets
New insight into the relationship between recognising faces and recognising expressions
The reorganization of the visual cortex in congenitally blind people
Chinese herb effective in treating vascular dementia
Another step in understanding how memories are formed
May 2003
For women over 65, Combined Hormone Therapy increases risk of dementia
Cholesterol not a risk factor for Alzheimer's
Treatment to lower blood pressure reduces risk of cognitive decline in stroke patients
Cognitive decline after bypass surgery appears more transient than feared
Poorly controlled diabetes could lead to dementia in the elderly
Fetuses recognize mother's voice in the womb
Imaging study confirms theory of dyslexia
Impact of prenatal environment on learning abilities
Amphetamine helps or hinders cognitive function depending on your genes
Rat study offers more complex model of brain aging
Is a dwindling brain chemical responsible for age-related cognitive decline?
April 2003
Meal skipping protects the nerve cells of mice
Interactions with other races can impair mental capacity in the strongly prejudiced
Prenatal exposure to alcoholaffects executive functioning in young children
Long-lasting changes in attention and motor skills after heavy stimulant abuse
Cognitive impairment seen in heavy marijuana users who started using before 18
March 2003
Low birth weight still impacting exam scores 16 years on
Face recognition may not be a special case
No support for idea that pregnancy affects memory and concentration
People remember speech better when it is accompanied by gestures
Helping memory with "natural" supplements
Age-related changes in the brain's white matter affect cognitive function
Brain implant may restore memory
Activity in the mediotemporal lobe lower in elderly with poor memory
February 2003
Remembering imagined actions as real
Pilot study finds ginseng may improve memory in stroke dementia patients
High sugar blood levels linked to poor memory
Lowered immunity puts older coronary bypass patients at higher risk for cognitive decline
Another step in understanding how sleep affects memory
Common pediatric anesthesia drugs cause brain damage and learning and memory problems in infant rats
Cognitive abilities increase with time in most premature children
Computer Automation Software Speeds Brain Research
January 2003
Gene linked to poor episodic memory
Biofeedback training for the brain
Second language best taught in childhood
Detection of foreign faces faster than faces of your own race
Imaging study confirms link between exercise and cognitive function
Calorie restriction reduces age-related brain cell death
Neural circuits that control eye movements play crucial role in visual attention
Learning a sequence with explicit knowledge of that sequence involves same
More details about how memories are formed in the hippocampus
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