========================================

         T h e  M e m o r y  K e y
         <http://www.memory-key.com>

Your resource for information about memory and memory improvement

               March 2008

<http://www.memory-key.com/newsletters/issue_121.htm>

========================================
     THIS MONTH ON MEMORY-KEY.COM:

                NEWS
Why we don't always learn from our mistakes

Listening to cell phones significantly impairs drivers

Psychological distress, not depression, linked to increased risk of stroke

Short-term stress can affect learning and memory

Correct levels of stress hormones boost learning

French maritime pine bark improves memory in elderly

White-matter changes linked to gait and balance problems

Injection of human umbilical cord blood helps aging brain

Different use of brain areas may explain memory problems in schizophrenics

Head injuries result in widespread brain tissue loss one year later

Strong links between arts education and cognitive development

Grammar impairment among SLI children

Connection between language and movement

Language feature unique to human brain identified

          ALZHEIMER'S NEWS
Paradoxical finding may shed new light on memory loss

Potential new drug target identified

Study validates Pittsburgh Compound-B in identifying Alzheimer's disease toxins

Results of caregiver survey

Larger belly in mid-life increases risk of dementia

PET's targeted imaging may lead to earlier diagnosis of dementia

 
========================================
"The Memory Key" is now available as a downloadable digital book!
Check it out at:
http://www.memory-key.com/shop/memkey_ebook.htm.

========================================

Check out the e-book on "Effective notetaking" at:
http://www.memory-key.com/shop/notetaking_workbook.htm.

and the e-book on "Remembering intentions" at:
http://www.memory-key.com/shop/intention_ebook.htm

Note that you can now use your credit cards on Paypal.

========================================
NEW: Sequel to Secrets available! Find out about my YA novels at:
http://www.fmmcpherson.com/

========================================
                  NEWS
<http://www.memory-key.com/InfoCenter/news.htm>

March 2008
<http://www.memory-key.com/news/2008/news_2008Mar.htm>

Why we don't always learn from our mistakes

A study of the tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon suggests that most errors are repeated because the very act of making a mistake, despite receiving correction, constitutes the learning of that mistake.  
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2008/news_2008Mar.htm#mistakes

Listening to cell phones significantly impairs drivers

A brain imaging study in which 29 volunteers used a driving simulator while inside an MRI brain scanner, has revealed that just listening on a cell phone reduces by 37% the amount of brain activity associated with driving, and significantly worsens the quality of driving.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2008/news_2008Mar.htm#phones

Psychological distress, not depression, linked to increased risk of stroke

A very large, long-running study has found that psychological distress was associated with an increased risk of stroke and that the risk of stroke increased the more distress the participants reported. There was no increased risk for people who had experienced an episode of major depression in the past year or at any point in their lifetime.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2008/news_2008Mar.htm#distress

Short-term stress can affect learning and memory

Not only long-lasting, severe stress can impair cell communication in the hippocampus — rodent studies have now demonstrated that the same outcome can happen with short-term stress.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2008/news_2008Mar.htm#stress

Correct levels of stress hormones boost learning

A study using ground squirrels suggests that learning is enhanced with just the right amount of the stress hormone cortisol.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2008/news_2008Mar.htm#levels

French maritime pine bark improves memory in elderly

A study of Pycnogenol (an antioxidant plant extract from the bark of the French maritime pine tree) has found it improved both numerical working memory as well as spatial working memory in seniors aged 60-85 years old. Blood samples suggested that the antioxidant activity of Pycnogenol plays a major role. Pycnogenol is a common component in dietary supplements.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2008/news_2008Mar.htm#pine

White-matter changes linked to gait and balance problems

A three-year study involving 639 adults between the ages of 65 and 84 has found that people with severe white matter changes (leukoaraiosis) were twice as likely to score poorly on walking and balance tests as those people with mild white matter changes.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2008/news_2008Mar.htm#gait

Injection of human umbilical cord blood helps aging brain

A rat study has found that a single injection of human umbilical cord blood cells had a significant effect on cells in the hippocampus, raising the possibility of cell therapy to rejuvenate the aged brain.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2008/news_2008Mar.htm#cord

Different use of brain areas may explain memory problems in schizophrenics

New research indicates that schizophrenics’ memory problems may be related to differences in how their brains process information. The study also found that this difference in brain activity was associated with a feeling of confidence in incorrect memories among schizophrenics.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2008/news_2008Mar.htm#schizophrenics

Head injuries result in widespread brain tissue loss one year later

A study of traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients has revealed a surprising extent of tissue loss a year after the event, even in patients with no obvious lesions.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2008/news_2008Mar.htm#Head

Strong links between arts education and cognitive development

The Dana Consortium study, a 3 year study by cognitive neuroscientists from seven universities, has been investigating the effects of music, dance, and drama education on other types of learning. The researchers have identified eight key points which point to the benefits of arts training, especially music.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2008/news_2008Mar.htm#arts

Grammar impairment among SLI children

A new study reveals that for a sub-group of children with specific language impairment, the problem lies specifically in grammar processing, but they appeared to be partially compensating by using neural circuitry associated with vocabulary/word meaning or world knowledge (semantic processing). The finding suggests that educational methods that enhance these compensatory mechanisms may help such children overcome their difficulties.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2008/news_2008Mar.htm#Grammar

Connection between language and movement

A study of all three groups of birds with vocal learning abilities – songbirds, parrots and hummingbirds – has revealed that the brain structures for singing and learning to sing are embedded in areas controlling movement. The findings may explain why humans talk with our hands and voice, and could open up new approaches to understanding speech disorders in humans. It also explains why young children do better on motor tasks when they talk to themselves out loud.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2008/news_2008Mar.htm#movement

Language feature unique to human brain identified

A comparison of human brains with those of chimpanzees and macaque monkeys, has revealed that only in humans does the nerve bundle arcuate fasciculus extend deeply into language-associated areas of the temporal cortex, such as Wernicke's area, as well as Broca’s area.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2008/news_2008Mar.htm#unique

========================================
           ALZHEIMER'S NEWS
<http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers/Alzheimers_news.htm>

March 2008
<http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers/Alzheimers_2008a.htm>

Paradoxical finding may shed new light on memory loss

A study of the amount of cleavage of amyloid precursor protein (APP) has revealed that the increased amount seen in Alzheimer’s patients (compared to others of the same age) is less than that of much younger people, suggesting that normal memory loss is hyper-activated in Alzheimer’s, pointing to Alzheimer’s as a disorder affecting the ability to both make and break memories.
http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers/Alzheimers_2008a.htm#Paradoxical

Potential new drug target identified

A mouse study has identified an enzyme involved in APP cleavage in more than 99% of patients with Alzheimer’s, and successfully tested two compounds that inhibit it, producing great improvement in memory, as well as reduced brain levels of beta amyloid.
http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers/Alzheimers_2008a.htm#target

Study validates Pittsburgh Compound-B in identifying Alzheimer's disease toxins

Further research demonstrating that Pittsburgh Compound-B (PiB) binds to beta-amyloid deposits has confirmed that PiB allows accurate assessment of the amount of beta-amyloid plaques in brains of people afflicted with Alzheimer’s.
http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers/Alzheimers_2008a.htm#Pittsburgh

Results of caregiver survey

Results from the third annual Alzheimer’s Foundation of America Investigating Caregivers’ Attitudes and Needs Survey found that many children are involved in caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s, and that more information is wanted about how to help children cope when a loved one is diagnosed. Lack of caregiver familiarity with symptoms or insufficient knowledge about Alzheimer’s is also identified as a problem leading to delays in diagnosis.
http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers/Alzheimers_2008a.htm#survey

Larger belly in mid-life increases risk of dementia

A large study spanning 36 years has found that those with the highest amount of abdominal fat in their early forties were nearly three times more likely to eventually develop dementia than those with the lowest amount of abdominal fat. Having a large abdomen increased the risk of dementia regardless of overall weight and existing health conditions.
http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers/Alzheimers_2008a.htm#belly

PET's targeted imaging may lead to earlier diagnosis of dementia

Use of PET imaging with a radiotracer has allowed researchers to classify different types of dementia with very high rates of success.
http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers/Alzheimers_2008a.htm#PET

========================================

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

========================================

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

========================================
Copyright © 2008 Capital Research Limited.
All Rights Reserved

========================================
This issue may be FREELY distributed as long as the
entire issue is included.


Subscribers can easily change their email address at:
http://www.memory-key.com/newsletters/address.htm

If you are not already subscribed and you wish to receive it free
by Email each week, transmit "subscribe" as the subject header of
an Email message to:
<mailto:newsletter@memory-key.com>

To unsubscribe, transmit "unsubscribe" as the subject header.
========================================

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

========================================

Copyright © 2008 Capital Research Limited.

All Rights Reserved

========================================

This issue may be FREELY distributed as long as the
entire issue is included.

Subscribers can easily change their email address at:
http://www.memory-key.com/newsletters/address.htm

If you are not already subscribed and you wish to receive it free
by Email each week, transmit "subscribe" as the subject header of
an Email message to: <mailto:newsletter@memory-key.com>

To unsubscribe, transmit "unsubscribe" as the subject header.

more issues