One of the most common complaints among healthy older adults relates to a decline in memory performance. This decline has been linked to an inability to ignore irrelevant information when forming memories. In order to ignore distracting information, the brain should act to suppress its responses to distractions, but it has been shown that in older adults there is in fact an increase in brain activity at those times. In a new study published in the April 2010 issue of Elsevier’s Cortex (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/cortex) researchers at the University of California San Francisco have shown that even prior knowledge of an impending distraction does not help to improve the working memory performance of older adults. [continue reading…]
Memory
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Despite the aches and pains that occur in old age, many older adults maintain a positive outlook, remembering the positive experiences from their past. A new study, reported in the April 2010 issue of Elsevier’s Cortex (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/cortex), reveals that older adults’ ability to remember the past through a positive lens is linked to the way in which the brain processes emotional content. In the older adult brain, there are strong connections between those regions that process emotions and those known to be important for successful formation of memories, particularly when processing positive information. [continue reading…]
Imagine a world in which we could wipe the slate clean.
No, not undo the damage our actions had caused – for that we’d need a time machine – but rather erase painful memories of the past.
It may seem like the stuff of science fiction, but researchers have made great progress in recent years in understanding the neural processes and bio-chemistry involved in memory formation and recall.
So much so that some are beginning to talk about cures for phobias and treatments for post traumatic stress disorder. ( link to continue reading)
Source: BBC
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Have you ever forgotten to post an important letter or let an appointment slip your mind? A new study from UK researchers suggests that for those who regularly use ecstasy or other recreational drugs, this kind of memory lapse is more common. Their research, which uncovered potential links between memory deficits and cocaine for the first time, Journal of Psychopharmacology, published by SAGE.
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