Memory News Digest

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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

August 2006

<http://www.memory-key.com/newsletters/issue_88.htm>

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THIS MONTH ON MEMORY-KEY.COM:

NEWS
Exercise helps sustain mental activity as we age
Copper increases cognitive decline in older adults on high-fat diet
Novelty aids learning
Most of the cognitive deficits associated with alcoholism recoverable
Morbid obesity in toddlers linked to low IQ
Childhood sleep apnea linked to brain damage, lower IQ
Ingredient commonly found in shampoos may inhibit brain development
Drug erases long-term memory
Restoring flexibility to old brains
No specialized face area
Genetic variations that may be key to the evolution of the human brain

ALZHEIMER'S NEWS
Juices may reduce Alzheimer's disease risk
High blood sugar linked to MCI and dementia
Brain enzyme treatment for Alzheimer's
Why chances of Alzheimer's increase with age

FAILURE TO RECEIVE

BLOG

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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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Find out about my YA novel at:
http://www.fmmcpherson.com/

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

August 2006
<http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006Aug.htm>

Exercise helps sustain mental activity as we age
A review of the research on the effects of exercise on brain functioning supports the view that physical exercise helps people maintain cognitive abilities well into older age.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006Aug.htm#Exercise

Copper increases cognitive decline in older adults on high-fat diet
A large six-year study found that among the 16% of older adults who had high levels of saturated and trans fats in their diets, cognitive function deteriorated more rapidly the more copper they had in their diets. Copper intake wasn’t a factor for the rest of the group.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006Aug.htm#Copper

Novelty aids learning
We’ve long suspected that the human brain is particularly attracted to new information. Now a study reveals that the brain region that regulates our levels of motivation responds better to novelty than to the familiar, and that people best remembered the images they had been shown when new images were mixed in with slightly familiar images during learning.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006Aug.htm#Novelty

Most of the cognitive deficits associated with alcoholism recoverable
Results of a study involving middle-aged alcoholics who have been sober for six months to 13 years, suggest that long-term abstinent alcoholics can recover most of their neurocognitive deficits. However, deficits in spatial-processing abilities continued.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006Aug.htm#alcoholism

Morbid obesity in toddlers linked to low IQ
A study has found that patients with early-onset morbid obesity (they weighed at least 150% of their ideal body weight before they were 4) had an average IQ of 77, compared to an average of 63 for Prader-Willi patients and an average of 106 for a control group of normal-weight siblings. Scans also revealed white-matter lesions on the brains of many of the Prader-Willi and early-onset morbidly obese patients.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006Aug.htm#obesity

Childhood sleep apnea linked to brain damage, lower IQ
A study of children with severe obstructive sleep apnea has identified damage in the hippocampus and the right frontal cortex, and linked that to observable deficits in performance on cognitive tests. Children with OSA had an average IQ of 85 compared to 101 in matched controls.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006Aug.htm#apnea

Ingredient commonly found in shampoos may inhibit brain development
An ingredient found in many shampoos and other personal care products appears to interfere with normal brain development in baby mice when applied to the skin of their pregnant mothers. Whether the amounts most people absorb from personal care products would cause harm remains unclear.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006Aug.htm#shampoos

Drug erases long-term memory
A rat study has succeeded in erasing memory without damaging the brain. An inhibitor for protein kinase M zeta erased memories of a learned task when given after training — even causing the memory to vanish when it was given 30 days after the training.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006Aug.htm#erases

Restoring flexibility to old brains
Researchers have identified a protein that stops new neural connections forming in adult brains, possibly explaining why older brains become less adaptable. The findings could offer hope for victims of brain injury and strokes.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006Aug.htm#flexibility

No specialized face area
Another study has come out casting doubt on the idea that there is an area of the brain specialized for faces. The fusiform gyrus has been dubbed the "fusiform face area", but a detailed imaging study has revealed that different patches of neurons respond to different images although more are tuned to faces than other objects.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006Aug.htm#face

Genetic variations that may be key to the evolution of the human brain
Two studies have found important differences between the human genome and that of our nearest relatives. The first study has found a gene that codes for a piece of protein called DUF1220 and exists in 212 copies in humans, but only 37 in chimpanzees and 30 in monkeys, while mice and rats have only one. The protein is found particularly in brain regions associated with higher cognitive function.
The second study has found a gene that's changed dramatically in a relatively short period of time. The gene is found only in mammals and birds, and hasn’t changed much in other animals — between a chimp and a chicken, there are only two differences in the 118 letters of DNA code that make up HAR1 (human accelerated region 1). But there are 18 differences in that one gene between human and chimp. HAR1 is part of two overlapping genes that appear to be involved in cortical development.
http://www.memory-key.com/news/2006/news_2006Aug.htm#evolution

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ALZHEIMER'S NEWS
<http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers%20news.htm>

August 2006
<http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers_2006b.htm>

Juices may reduce Alzheimer's disease risk
A large epidemiological study has found that those who drank three or more servings of fruit and vegetable juices per week had a 76% lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease than those who drank juice less than once a week. The benefit seemed greatest for those who carried the so-called “Alzheimer’s gene”.
http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers_2006b.htm#Juices

High blood sugar linked to MCI and dementia
The first study to investigate the association over time between blood sugar and the risk of cognitive difficulties has found that each 1% increase in their long-term blood sugar level was associated with a 40% increased risk of developing MCI or dementia four years later in older women.
http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers_2006b.htm#sugar

Brain enzyme treatment for Alzheimer's
In a new approach to treating Alzheimer’s, increasing brain levels of an enzyme that helps neurons rid themselves of excess or aberrant proteins has restored a great deal of brain activity to mice with Alzheimer's symptoms.
http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers_2006b.htm#enzyme

Why chances of Alzheimer's increase with age
Experiments with roundworms have revealed two important proteins that help slow down the accumulation of amyloid-beta, and provides support for the view that amyloid plaques are not the main problem, but smaller amyloid tendrils are. The study also explains why aging increases the likelihood of Alzheimer’s.
http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers_2006b.htm#chances

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FAILURE TO RECEIVE

Some ISPs have been sporadically blocking my newsletters, most notably comcast and att. I’ve just moved to another ISP myself, and I hope this will fix this problem, which is caused by other people using the same ISP sending out spam. So, if you haven’t been receiving these newsletters reliably, this is the reason, my apologies, and hopefully this will fix it.

Don’t forget, you can check out back issues at:
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BLOG
www.memory-key.com/blogger.html

Latest posts:

* Empathy undeveloped in adolescent brains
* Sedative revives persistent vegetative state patients
* Climate change and civilization
* autism more likely when father over 40

* no "God spot" in the brain
* We really are attracted to novelty
* Humans, chimpanzees and bonobos.
* placebos aren’t just "imaginary"
* controlling chronic pain
* how we make snap judgments about people

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