Memory Guide > Newsletters > Issue 82
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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
May 2006
<http://www.memory-key.com/newsletters/issue_82.htm>
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THIS MONTH ON MEMORY-KEY.COM:
NEWS
Simple Lifestyle Changes May Improve
Cognitive Function
Life-defining events remembered more
favorably
Why motivation helps memory
Why IQ drops with age
Moderate alcohol linked with better
mental function in older women
Prenatal exposure to alcohol linked to
lower I.Q.
Lowering blood pressure doesn't prevent
cognitive impairment, dementia
Lead exposure leads to brain cell loss and
damage years later
ADHD linked to genetic and environmental
interactions
Drug improves information processing in
adults with ADHD
No damage to adolescent brains of
moderate cannabis users
Drug for overactive bladder can cause
memory deterioration
Planning is goal-, not action-, oriented
Master planners in brain may coordinate
other areas' roles
New view of hippocampus’s role in memory
How brain cells communicate
ALZHEIMER'S NEWS
Good physical function linked to
Alzheimer's delay
Collaborative care has better
outcomes for both patients and caregivers
Link between size of hippocampus and
progression to Alzheimer's
Potential new treatment strategy for
Alzheimer's
Post-mortem brain studies reveal features of
mild cognitive impairment
Neurons can produce apolipoprotein E
PODCAST
BLOG
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Find out more about my e-book on "Remembering intentions"
at:
http://www.memory-key.com/shop/intention_ebook.htm
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Find out about my new YA novel at:
http://www.fmmcpherson.com/
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NEWS
<http://www.memory-key.com/MemoryGuide/news.htm>
May 2006
<http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006May.htm>
Simple Lifestyle Changes May Improve
Cognitive Function
A small study found evidence of improved brain functioning
in older people (mean age 53) after only 2 weeks on a
program combining a brain healthy diet plan, relaxation
exercises, cardiovascular conditioning, and mental exercise.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006May.htm#Lifestyle
Life-defining events remembered more
favorably
A study has found that when people feel an event has had a
large impact on them, they downplay the negative and
emphasize the positive.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006May.htm#events
Why motivation helps memory
An imaging study has identified the brain region involved in
anticipating rewards — specific brain structures in the
mesolimbic region involved in the processing of emotions —
and revealed how this reward center promotes memory
formation.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006May.htm#motivation
Does IQ drop with age or does something
else impact intelligence?
As people grow older, their IQ scores drop. Now a study
shows that if college students had to perform under
conditions that mimic the perception deficits many older
people have, their IQ scores would also take a drop.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006May.htm#IQ
Moderate alcohol intake linked with
better mental function in older women
Another study supporting the benefits of a moderate amount
of alcohol for older women in regard to mental function,
particularly in verbal abilities.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006May.htm#alcohol
Prenatal exposure to alcohol linked
to lower I.Q.
It seems even light to moderate drinking – especially during
the second trimester – has deleterious effects on IQ in
African-American offspring.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006May.htm#Prenatal
Lowering blood pressure doesn't prevent
cognitive impairment, dementia
A review of three large-scale studies of patients with
hypertension found no convincing evidence that lowering
blood pressure prevents the development of dementia or
cognitive impairment in hypertensive patients without
apparent prior cerebrovascular disease. However, there is
some evidence that midlife hypertension but not late life
hypertension is related to cognitive decline.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006May.htm#blood
Lead exposure leads to brain cell loss
and damage years later
A study confirms earlier findings that people with
occupational lead exposure experience declines in their
thinking and memory skills years after their exposure.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006May.htm#Lead
ADHD linked to genetic and environmental
interactions
A study has found evidence that increasing lead exposure is
linked to impairment on a number of executive functions
(impaired in those with ADHD), but that certain genetic and
biological factors seemed to predispose an individual to the
negative effects of lead exposure.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006May.htm#ADHD
Drug improves information processing in
adults with ADHD
Mixed amphetamine salts extended release (MAS XR)
substantially improved the speed and accuracy in information
processing of young adults with ADHD.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006May.htm#Drug
No damage to adolescent brains of moderate
cannabis users
A preliminary study using a new imaging technique to compare
the brain tissue of young people who had used cannabis
moderately as teenagers and young people who had not, has
failed to find any indication that damage to the developing
adolescent brain occurred.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006May.htm#cannabis
Drug for overactive bladder can cause
memory deterioration
A comparison of two prescription medications used to treat
overactive bladder (OAB) found one of them caused
significant memory deterioration.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006May.htm#bladder
Planning is goal-, not action-,
oriented
A monkey study has revealed that the brain's "executive"
center plans behaviors not by specifying movements required
for given actions, but rather the events that will result
from those actions.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006May.htm#Planning
Master planners in brain may coordinate
other areas' roles in cognitive
tasks
Brain scans have identified 3 brain areas that appear to
coordinate the activities of specialized regions.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006May.htm#Master
New view of hippocampus’s role in memory
New evidence reveals that the hippocampus is just as
important for retrieving certain types of short-term
memories as it is for long-term memories. The researchers
suggest that, for the brain, the distinction between
'long-term' memory and 'short-term' memory are less relevant
than that between ‘feature’ memory and ‘conjunction’ memory
— the ability to remember specific things versus how they
are related.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006May.htm#hippocampus
How brain cells communicate
A new finding has added to our understanding of how brain
cells communicate.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006May.htm#communicate
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ALZHEIMER'S NEWS
<http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers%20news.htm>
May 2006
<http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers_2006a.htm>
Good physical function linked to
Alzheimer's delay
A study following 2,288 older adults for six years found
that those whose physical function was higher at the start
of the study were three times less likely to develop
dementia than were those whose physical function was lower.
http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers_2006a.htm#physical
Collaborative care has better
outcomes for both patients and caregivers
A team approach to care significantly improved the quality
of care and behavioral and psychological symptoms of
dementia, as well as helping caregivers.
http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers_2006a.htm#Collaborative
Link between size of hippocampus
and progression to Alzheimer's
A study of 20 older adults with mild cognitive impairment
has found that the hippocampus was smaller in those who
developed into Alzheimer's during the 3 year period.
http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers_2006a.htm#hippocampus
Potential new treatment strategy for
Alzheimer's
A study has identified several new compounds that could play
a role in preventing or treating Alzheimer's disease and
other degenerative conditions of the nervous system.
http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers_2006a.htm#P75NTR
Post-mortem brain studies reveal features
of mild cognitive impairment
Autopsies have revealed that the brains of patients with
mild cognitive impairment display pathologic features that
appear to place them at an intermediate stage between normal
aging and Alzheimer's disease.
http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers_2006a.htm#Post
Neurons can produce apolipoprotein E
Apolipoprotein E has been known to be synthesized in the
brain in support cells. Now a new study reveals that neurons
can also produce apoE, but only in response to injury to the
brain.
http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers_2006a.htm#apoli
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PODCAST
This month I discuss several news items that didn't make it
into this months news digest.
This link will take you to a schedule for the program:
http://www.memory-key.com/podcasts/podnews606.htm
There is also a transcript available.
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BLOG
www.memory-key.com/blogger.html
Latest posts:
* How to be happy
* Haptic communication
* prenatal exposure to pollutants
* Mozart and visual perception
* value of calorie restriction
* education systems responsible for stability of
intellectual abilities?
* judging gender by gait
* Music helps those with chronic pain
* a tough childhood makes you more gullible
* verbally abused children grow up self-critical and
depressed
* language and planning abilities in non-human animals
Note that the blog is indexed chronologically at
http://www.memory-key.com/indices/blog_index.htm
And by subject, at http://www.memory-key.com/indices/blog_index2.htm
You can also access my blog with an RSS feed. The URL is
http://memory-key.com/ftp.memory-key.com/atom.xml, or just click
the
Bloglines button on the sidebar of my blog.
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