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November 8, 2004
Memory
I met with my Korean language partner tonight and had a great dinner at Pho’ 79. I love that soup! In Korean Style, we ate the soup contents with chopsticks and used a spoon for the broth. After dinner we went back near the University Campus to a nice coffee shop on Washington Avenue. We stayed there until about 9:00pm and talked about the Korean Language and learning problems. One of the subjects that came up was memorization. In Korea the main style of education was based on rote memorization of facts and words and expressions. Now things are changing. A broader context and getting students to think and problem solve in learning is stressed more. My language partner said that memorization has it’s limits. Often we memorize things for tests but then promptly forget them. Then when it comes time for the final exams we have to learn everything all over again. I have experienced this myself. Pure memorization of words in foreign languages is great for adding items to our short term memory. But if not practiced and used in different contexts, words that we memorize are lost after a short time.
My memory is challenged. I really have to work hard at remembering things anyway and working with languages I’ve had to come up with better methods of learning or it just wasn’t working.
In any case, there are a couple of things that I’m discovering about memory that are highlighted in some of the articles listed here. First, memory is a physical, electrical, chemical function of our brain. Information is not only stored in our brain, but also processed and organized and recalled on demand. So, proper functioning of our brain for memory is important. Treating our brain properly is therefore a good strategy to improve our memory. This includes the fuel for our brains and the proper rest.
Secondly, we can change and improve our memory. Attitude makes a big difference in our memory capability.
So, along these lines of thought, below are some articles I found very informative and useful. To read the full article, please click on the link at the end of each excerpt. Also on the website that these articles came from, you can do a search for specific topics, like “Memory Retention.” This kind of search will result in many articles that are related to ‘memory” or “memory retention.” The one’s listed here are just a sampling from this wonderful database:
Emotions Affect Memory Retention
NEW YORK, Feb 22 (Reuters Health) -- The emotional impact of a particular image or event appears to have a profound influence on its place in long-term memory, researchers conclude.
The amygdala -- a part of the brain that plays a role in emotion -- "is important in modulating memory for events according to their emotional importance, regardless of whether the nature of the emotion is pleasant or aversive," conclude Dr. Stephen Hamann and colleagues at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Their findings are published in the March issue of Nature Neuroscience...
http://www.personalmd.com/news/a1999022213.shtml
Testosterone Tied to Memory
Prostate cancer patients who were deprived of it forgot things faster than healthy men
THURSDAY, Oct. 28 (HealthDayNews) -- Men who are given testosterone-deprivation treatment for prostate cancer forget things faster than healthy men, says a study by Oregon Health & Science University researchers.
The researchers found that word retention among men undergoing testosterone deprivation decreased rapidly only two minutes after they learned words, even though they were able to initially learn words as well as healthy men.
This rapid decline in memory suggests that the lack of testosterone impacts the function of the hippocampus, the part of the brain that controls learning and memory...
http://www.personalmd.com/news.jsp?nid=522002
Sleep Replenishes the Memory Bank
Studies find a good night's shut-eye revives verbal, motor skills
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 8 (HealthDayNews) -- If you want to improve your recall, try getting more shut-eye at night.
Two studies appearing in the Oct. 9 issue of Nature found human memory improves after sleeping.
Each study looked at memory for different tasks -- one tested participants on motor skills and the other on speech memory -- but participants performed better after sleeping in both studies.
"A full night of sleep is critical to enhancing learning," says an author of one of the studies, Matthew Walker, an instructor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in Boston. "It's almost as though at night an editor comes in while you're sleeping and reorganizes and enhances your memories to prepare them for the next day."... http://www.personalmd.com/news.jsp?nid=515450
Research confirms the virtues of 'sleeping on it'
Recent studies show that both slow-wave and REM sleep are important for consolidating learning and memory--and perhaps even for solving intractable problems.
Researchers have increasingly recognized, in recent years, that sleep serves many functions, including providing an opportunity for the body to rest, facilitating metabolic and endocrine function, and enabling "offline" memory processing...
...In the case of sleep's effect on learning and memory, for example, studies have produced conflicting results over the years, with some linking REM sleep, in particular, to improved memory, and others failing to find such effects. But recent investigations have yielded new insight into sleep's role in memory and learning. The research confirms what some sleep experts have long theorized: that sleep is critical for firming up the learning that took place during the day--a process known as memory consolidation...
http://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/sleeponit.html
Brain Boosters
How to exercise your mind
(HealthDayNews) -- If you've been lamenting that your memory isn't what it used to be, take heart. Memory is a skill that can be sharpened and improved at any age, according to Connecticut College.
Give your brain a regular workout by:
http://www.personalmd.com/news.jsp?nid=518259
Want a Better Memory? Practice, Practice, Practice
Mnemonic techniques the tool of choice for memory masters
MONDAY, Dec. 16 (HealthScoutNews) -- Ever been envious of a friend who knows everyone's telephone number by heart? Or of your partner's ability to never forget a name?
Having an excellent memory may not be as elusive as you think.
People with superior memories don't have brains different from those less successful at remembering, a new study by British researchers has found. Rather, people renown for their memory have trained certain parts of their brain to store and retrieve information, a feat that others with less proficient memories have not yet mastered...
http://www.personalmd.com/news.jsp?nid=510793
Posted by carl1236 at November 8, 2004 11:34 PM | Learning