Memory Guide > Newsletters > Issue 106
T h e M e m o r y K e y
Your resource for information about memory and memory improvement
July 2007
<http://www.memory-key.com/newsletters/issue_106.htm>
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THIS MONTH ON MEMORY-KEY.COM:
Testing one time is not enough
Difficulty identifying odors may predict cognitive decline
Memory problems and sleep disturbance linked in older women
Reading ability protects brain from lead exposure
More on how short-term memory works
A Gene to Better Remember Traumatic Events
You can forget the unhappy past
Work could lead to first drug for post-traumatic stress disorder
Study links manic depression with brain tissue loss
Anatomical advantage for second language learners
Drug improves symptoms of severe Alzheimer's disease
New gene mutation identified in frontotemporal dementia
New diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's disease
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The e-book on "Remembering intentions" is now $9.95!
Check it out at:
http://www.memory-key.com/shop/intention_ebook.htm
Note that you can now use your credit cards on Paypal.
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NEW: The e-book on "Effective notetaking" is now available!
Check it out at:
http://www.memory-key.com/shop/notetaking_workbook.htm
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Find out about my YA novel at:
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<http://www.memory-key.com/MemoryGuide/news.htm>
July 2007
<http://www.memory-key.com/news/2007/news_2007Jul.htm>
Testing one time is not enough
A study demonstrating the perils of one-time testing gave 16 common cognitive and neuropsychological tests to groups of people ages 18-39, 50-59 and 60-97 years. The variation between scores on the same test given three times during a two-week period was as big as the variation between the scores of people in different age groups.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2007/news_2007Jul.htm#Testing
Difficulty identifying odors may predict cognitive decline
A study of nearly 600 older adults has found that those who had difficulty identifying common odors had a greater risk of developing mild cognitive impairment, increasingly recognized as a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease, over the five-year period of the study.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2007/news_2007Jul.htm#odors
Memory problems and sleep disturbance linked in older women
A large long-running study, involving older women (average age 69) found that the nearly 25% of women who experienced cognitive decline over the 15 year period were twice as likely as women without memory problems to experience sleep disturbances. The findings raise the possibility that cognitive decline may increase the risk of sleep problems, rather than vice versa.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2007/news_2007Jul.htm#sleep
Reading ability protects brain from lead exposure
Cognitive reserve is a concept that has been chiefly discussed in terms of protecting against age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s, but a new study has found evidence that it can also protect against long-term lead exposure.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2007/news_2007Jul.htm#lead
More on how short-term memory works
Visual working memory is severely limited. A new study has found that a high IQ is associated with the ability to hold more items in working memory, but not with how clearly those objects are remembered, which is an independent variable.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2007/news_2007Jul.htm#stm
A gene to better remember traumatic events
It's generally accepted that emotional events are easier to remember than more mundane events, but a new study provides evidence that those who carry a common variant of a gene called ADRA2B may have better recall of emotionally charged moments than those who lack the gene.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2007/news_2007Jul.htm#events
You can forget the unhappy past
The concept of memory suppression has been a controversial one, but now a study has shown that people can suppress emotional memories and when they do so, this action is associated with a particular pattern of brain activity.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2007/news_2007Jul.htm#past
Work could lead to first drug for post-traumatic stress disorder
Researchers have found the molecular mechanism that governs the formation of fears stemming from traumatic events. The work could lead to the first drug to treat PTSD.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2007/news_2007Jul.htm#PTSD
Study links manic depression with brain tissue loss
A study has found that bipolar disorder is associated with a reduction in brain tissue, concentrated in areas of the brain that control memory, face recognition and co-ordination.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2007/news_2007Jul.htm#depression
Anatomical advantage for second language learners
Based on the size of a small brain region called Heschl's Gyrus (HG) in the left hemisphere, researchers found they could predict who would be more successful in learning 18 words in an invented language.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2007/news_2007Jul.htm#language
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ALZHEIMER'S NEWS
<http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers/Alzheimers_news.htm>
July 2007
<http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers/Alzheimers_2007b.htm>
Drug improves symptoms of severe Alzheimer's disease
A six-month study involving 343 people with severe Alzheimer’s disease has found that donepezil, a drug used to treat mild to moderate Alzheimer’s, stabilized or improved cognitive function in 63% of those taking donepezil compared to 39% of those taking placebo.
http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers/Alzheimers_2007b.htm#Drug
New gene mutation identified in frontotemporal dementia
A family in southern Italy has enabled researchers to identify a gene mutation that increases the chances of frontotemporal dementia.
http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers/Alzheimers_2007b.htm#ftd
New diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's disease
An international group of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) experts have proposed new diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer’s.
http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers/Alzheimers_2007b.htm#criteria
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My apologies for my extreme tardiness in getting this out, and for not putting last month’s issue of the Memory Key Newsletter out at all. As you know, my website redesign has been dragging on and on, and I got to the point where I just had to let everything go and focus on completing it. As you can see, if you go to the website, I have now done so.
Not in the sense of absolute completion, of course. For a start, a website is always a work in progress, and secondly, I still have a number of details to polish. But enough of the work has been done to enable the new version to go live, and I hope you will find it an improvement (and more so, when I have finished the crucial organizational aspects of getting all the “Related” links properly done).
Do let me know if you notice any glaring errors. I’d especially like to hear from anyone who uses a browser other than Internet Explorer or Mozilla, because those were the only two I tested it on.
Although I still have a number of details to polish, as I say, I will now be able to delegate that to a much smaller part of my time. Look to see my blogging resume, and the newsletters to come out on time!
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NEW STORE
Along with the new redesign, I also have the new MemoryKey Store live! There you can purchase, through Paypal (who take credit cards if you don’t have a Paypal account), the digital books on Remembering intentions and Taking effective notes. And within a few days, I expect to have a digital version of the original Memory Key book available! I know some of you have had trouble getting this in your countries, and have asked about the availability of this as an e-book. So I’m very excited to be able to offer that.
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If you have missed any issue of the newsletter (those people
who use hotmail
in particular sometimes have their mail bounced back
"overquota"), you can
read back issues at:
http://www.memory-key.com/newsletters/newsletters.htm
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The Memory Key website is named after my book "The Memory Key",
a
practical user-friendly handbook designed to help people achieve
genuine, long-lasting memory improvement.
http://www.memory-key.com/AboutTheSite/about_book.htm
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1564144704/thememorykey-20
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Copyright © 2007 Capital Research Limited.
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