One way science and memory connect is through the side effects of a medication that may cause memory loss. Another way is through trying to improve memory. Take Alzheimer's for example. It is now a well-recognized disease that has been under much scientific study. In this disease, memory loss begins when the entorhinal cortex, an area of brain involved in building new memories, loses neurons faster than they are being replaced.
The human brain was once thought to have all the brain cells possible at birth. Now science has uncovered the fact that human and primate brains can generate new nerve cells (neurons) after birth. These nerve cells are made in the cerebral cortex throughout the life span. The number of neurons stays fairly constant, but the ones lost in each area are replaced anew. If the production of new ones can't keep up with those dying or being removed, the brain function begins to decline.
Science has found that when the number is reduced by one-third, the short term memory begins to fail, hence Alzheimer's. It is thought that certain antioxidants have the ability to significantly delay the effects of Alzheimer's. In people under the age of 80, the chance of developing this disease could be reduced by 50 percent by taking low doses (200 to 400 mg) of ibuprofen for two or more years. There are also certain activity programs that can delay the progression of the disease.
Scientists believe the progression can be delayed by regular exercise. Lifestyle behaviors must be altered to age in a healthy way. This healthy aging includes retaining healthy memory function. The way one eats, sleeps, drinks, smokes, lacks adequate physical and mental exercise, and allows an overabundance of stress on a regular, long-lasting basis all affect good health. Illegal use of drugs has long been known to affect memory function. It kills brain cells, as does the long-term overuse of alcohol.
Two prescription drugs that have had memory loss as side effects are Prozac and Zoloft. The patients' symptoms would improve as far as the reason they were put on these drugs, but once memory loss began to develop, the patients would have to be taken off them. The process of knowing and perceiving is called cognition.
Alzheimer's and disorders related to it all have one thing in common: cognitive impairment. As long as only one symptom exists, the diseases are distinct from each other. If not treated early enough and effectively, other brain areas begin to be affected and the symptoms make it hard to diagnose which disease is present. One disease similar to Alzheimer's disease is dementia.
There are different types of dementia. There is Parkinson's Dementia, Frontal-Temporal Lobe Dementia, Vascular Dementia, Subcortical Vascular Dementia, dementia due to head injury, and dementia from cancer and cancer treatment. One thing is certain, regardless of your reason for memory loss, science and advanced technology are making it easier every day to single out and treat the problem.
How to memorize
To memorize is to store information in your brain for reuse later. The definition of memory is the power or act of remembering. The definition of remembering is to recall, to bring back to mind by an effort. Some people are able to memorize things temporarily and then forget them when they are no longer of use.
Many times this is the case with a person who may study just for the sake of passing test containing information they don't feel is of particular importance, yet they are required to know it anyway for a job or to pass to the next level of a class or school.
Preschoolers must make the effort to memorize the alphabet, to recognize colors, to write their names. This type of information is of importance in their daily lives as they go through each year of school. Often an older child will have to memorize the multiplication tables or all the states in the United States. Use of flash cards is a well-known way to memorize.
If you are studying a foreign language, you can use the flash cards to write one interpretation on one side, and the other version of the word on the other side. Children's books often use the flash method to tell a story that will help the child memorize. Pop-ups are a fun way to learn. Many books will use pictures of animals, toys, or even food to help the child memorize the name of a word and its proper usage.
Have you ever taught tricks to a dog? It must memorize the steps to the trick in the process of learning what you want. Teaching a parrot to talk requires the parrot to memorize the words you choose for it to learn. Sometimes an animal can memorize the path home or a smell of certain people. Maybe you need to learn some tricks, like recalling names at a party! To remember combinations, middle school students must memorize the numbers that will open their locks.
They also have to memorize their school ID numbers to go through the line in the cafeteria for billing to their lunch accounts. Sometimes people have to make phone calls and don't have pen and paper ready. They may have to temporarily memorize the number given them by an operator assistant.
If you have children, you may have asked them to memorize things like their phone numbers and addresses in case they get lost. Their teachers may even require this at the beginning of their school year in the younger grades of education. There are a vast number of books written on the process to improve memory.
Word games were invented for such a use. Even crossword puzzles require extensive use of the memory. Studies have been done for years on ways to trick your mind to memorize. Playing with people's names can help you memorize them. Make a rhyming game in your mind with the name. Rhyming stories are a fun way to memorize. Or you could try associating the name with a color. Whatever your choice to improve your memory, it can only benefit you to succeed!
Excerpted from the book How To Boost Your Memory Power by Wings Of Success.
This excerpt has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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