My favorite topic in psychology has always been memory. It gives everyone the ability to relive extreme emotions by replaying scenarios in their own mind like a personal movie. Without this function in our brains, we wouldn't be able to gain knowledge and further our intelligence or relive our wedding day and remember the intense emotions that tag along with it. 
Visual, Acoustic and Semantic memories combine together to allow us to absorb information around us.
To me, one of the most crippling diseases is Alzheimer's. Having the ability taken away to recall how to drive a car or even remember your own family is heartbreaking. One can only hope that researchers continue to make great strides in preventing or curing this disease.
This is a very interesting article. I agree with you when you say it is a topic that will stay in my mind for a long time. For this blog, I wrote about sleep and some tips the book gave on us about how to improve it. I agree with your statement at the end of the article about the disease Alzheimers. I have not personally known anyone with alzheimers but it would be so hard to know someone for years and all of a sudden, they don't even remember who you are one day.
I agree. Memory is one of the most fascinating things. It's one thing that makes us as the human species unique. I also agree that Alzheimer's is one of the most devastating diseases. My grandpa had it and it was heartbreaking to watch him struggle. Hopefully more research will lead to a cure.
I agree with this post. I think that memory is a very interesting concept. It is very interesting how our brain works and how the different parts of the brain come together to make everything work. I think that it is interesting how our senses help with memory as well. It is so much easier to remember a date if there are candles and the smell of roses. I cannot imagine having a disease like Alzheimer's and not remembering important events in my life. I can't imagine missing out on all of those memories as I continue on with my life.
The thing that always gets me is that most stand-up comics or sit-coms (basically most television media) continue to view Alzheimer's as some 'crazy' disease that just makes old people forget stuff. As though the disease, with its many different facets and crippling symptoms were that simple, or funny. It isn't just names and faces, but also how the world works - which is to say someone afflicted with the disease would have trouble remembering what to do with a spoon.
I realize the public's perception isn't something I can individually change - I just wish, for the sake of those afflicted, that it wasn't the butt of so many jokes.
YES. Yes, yes, yes. I agree with you completely. Memory is such a fascinating topic, and it is extremely critical to living a happy life. Alzheimer's is a truly sad disease, and I hope that it is cured someday. Personally knowing someone with this tragic sickness makes me hate it that much more. It is a bad thing that no one should ever have to deal with in their lifetime. It is just not fair for someone to be impaired of knowing who their own family is.
P.S. Nice pictures!
So much of the time, we only think about how Alzheimer's affects the people surrounding the patient. We see the distraught faces of the family, the concerned conversations with friends, the worried speculations about the future. Yet we never truly realize the emotional effect on the patient. It's one thing to have your memories snatched in an instant; it's another to have to live through the process of seeing your memories fade and living through periods of recognition and confusion. On top of that, you have to deal with how to respond to your family and their concerns. Hopefully none of us will ever have to suffer through that process. More importantly, hopefully more and more people learn to cherish their memories when they can.