News reports of research into memory February 2003
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February 2003
Remembering imagined actions as real
The latest from Elizabeth Loftus, guru of false
memory research. In this study, volunteers performed a variety
actions from the commonplace (flipping a coin) to the bizarre
(crushing a Hershey's kiss with a dental floss container). Later,
they were asked to imagine additional actions, such as kissing a
frog. At a future time, participants were asked to recall their
actions on that specific day. It was found that 15% of the
volunteers claimed they had actually performed some of the actions
they had only imagined.
The research was reported at the "Remembering Traumatic Experiences
in Childhood: Reliability and Limitations of Memory" symposium at
the American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual
Meeting in Denver, on February 16.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-02/uoc--fkf021303.php
Pilot study finds ginseng may improve memory in stroke dementia patients
Following mouse studies showing that ginseng
increased the activities of the brain chemicals acetylcholine and
choline acetyltransferase, a pilot study of 40 patients (average age
67) with mild to moderate vascular dementia was undertaken by
Chinese researchers. 25 patients were randomly selected to receive
ginseng extract, while 15 received the drug Duxil® (used to improve
memory in elderly dementia patients). Overall, researchers found
that patients who took the ginseng compound significantly improved
their average memory function after 12 weeks. More research (larger
samples, placebo-controls) is needed before this finding can be
confirmed.
The study was reported at the American Stroke Association's 28th
International Stroke Conference on February 14 in Phoenix.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-02/aha-gmi020403.php
High sugar blood levels linked to poor memory
A new study takes an important step in explaining cognitive
impairment in diabetics, and suggests a
possible cause for some age-related memory impairment. The study
assessed non-diabetic middle-aged and elderly people. Those with
impaired glucose tolerance (a pre-diabetic condition) had a smaller
hippocampus and scored worse on tests for recent memory. These
results were independent of age or overall cognitive performance.
The brain uses glucose almost exclusively as a fuel source. The
ability to get glucose from the blood is reduced in diabetes. The
study raises the possibility that exercise and weight loss, which
help control blood sugar levels, may be able to reverse some of the
memory loss that accompanies aging.
The paper was published in the February 18 issue of
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Full reference
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-02/nyum-hsb013003.php
Lowered immunity puts older coronary bypass patients at higher risk for cognitive decline
Older patients
with lowered immunity to certain common bacteria found in the
gastrointestinal tract are more likely than younger patients to
suffer cognitive decline after coronary artery bypass surgery.
The report appeared in the February issue of
Stroke.
Full reference
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-02/dumc-lip020303.php
Another step in understanding how sleep affects memory
The value of sleep
for memory takes a further step in being understood in new rodent
research, which found that, as the rodents slept, the thalamus at
the base of their brains originated bursts of electrical activity
(“sleep spindles”), which were then detected in the somatosensory
neocortex. Some 50 msec later, the hippocampus responded with a
pulse of electricity (a “ripple”). "This neocortical-hippocampal
dialogue may provide a selection mechanism for the time-compressed
replay of information learned during the day." It’s suggested that
the ripple is the hippocampus sending back neat, compact waves of
memory to the neocortex where they are filed away for future
reference. Most of this activity took place during slow wave sleep,
the stage which makes up the majority of the sleep cycle.
The paper was published in the February 18 issue of
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Full reference
Common pediatric anesthesia drugs cause brain damage and learning and memory problems in infant rats
A new study has found that drugs commonly used to
anesthetize children can cause brain damage and long-term
learning and memory disturbances in infant rats. The rats appeared
to behave normally in most other ways, and there were no outward
signs of brain damage.
The research was reported in the Feb. 1 issue of the
Journal of Neuroscience.
Full reference
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-02/wuso-cpa013003.php
Cognitive abilities increase with time in most premature children
Many studies have found that children born
prematurely with very low birthweight have an increased risk of
many neurological problems, including cognitive handicaps. New
research shows that most of these children improve significantly on
tests of cognitive function during early childhood and score within
the normal range on tests of verbal comprehension and intelligence
by age 8.
The report appears in the February 12 issue of the Journal
of the American Medical Association.
Full reference
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-02/nion-cai020503.php
Computer Automation Software Speeds Brain Research
A new computer automation tool has been developed that analyzes 3-D, microscopic images of the brains of rats after the animals have run through mazes. By logging important cognitive cellular information - such as activity, cell shape, size, and location - in a simple spreadsheet for analysis, the software is helping researchers identify which cells are active and when. In the past, researchers have only been able to pinpoint which general regions of the brain are active.
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