Working memory and neurogenesis at the Bay Area Neuroscience Gathering

By Lumos Labs Science Associate Paul Li, MS Neuroscience.

Last Friday afternoon, UCSF held their annual Bay Area Neuroscience Gathering (BANG) where local grad students and neuroscientists showcased their research posters to the Bay Area neuroscience community. Universities included UCSF, UC Davis, UC Berkeley, San Francisco State and Stanford. Lumos Labs presented an investigation into web-based experimentation and cognitive training.

Though not many posters were directly related to brain health, I wanted to report the ones that were of relevance and of possible interest to you:

Wesley Clapp, PhD at UCSF found subjects consolidate information differently in their working memory when they know they will face distractors than without any distractors present. They looked at two electroencephalography (EEG) signals that are associated particularly with memory, attention, and perception: the P100 and the N170 (these are electrical signals from the brain that occur at 100 and 170 milliseconds after the event has happened). Clapp and colleagues found that these latencies are modulated differently depending on if the information presented to the subject is relevant or not. He also showed that the amount subjects pay attention to irrelevant information directly correlates with their impairment in working memory performance. To learn more, see Clapp’s research poster.

Leslie Meltzer, a Ph.D student working with Karl Deisseroth at Stanford is studying the effects of antidepressants in rodent models of depression. Meltzer and colleagues found that the therapeutic effects of antidepressants required the growth of new neurons in the hippocampus, a brain region important for memory formation. This suggests that antidepressants might improve mood by increasing the production of new neurons. During Alzheimer’s disease, neurons in the hippocampus begin to die. Could antidepressants be helpful for fighting off dementia? It’s possible, but there are too many unknowns to have a clear picture. Bear in mind that a combination of mental and physical exercises, the types of food we eat, and social activities we do all matter in shaping the condition of our brain.

Memory Benefits of Power Napping

By contributing author Paul Li, a neuroscience graduate student at Columbia.

Whenever I am studying for an exam I inevitably take short naps in between my studies – just as long as I have a study-buddy or an alarm clock to wake me up. It never occurred to me that the nap might be beneficial beyond simply resting and re-energizing my brain. But a recent study has shown that naps, in this case a 90-minute snooze, can help consolidate memories and promote long-term retention.

In the study, participants began learning a complex thumb-tapping sequence. The participants were then divided into two groups: one took a nap and the other did not. When tested later that evening, the group that took a nap during the afternoon remembered more of the thumb-tapping sequence than the group that hadn’t napped. This suggests that while napping, the brain was working to strengthen and consolidate the newly forming memories. With that in mind, a power nap can be helpful for those who lack a good night’s sleep or want to perform better on their next exam.

Memory Tip #5: Make your 2008 resolution inescapable

By contributing author Paul Li, a neuroscience graduate student at Columbia.

Hopefully some of us have or will set some realistic and flexible New Year’s resolutions for 2008. Of course a good resolution doesn’t necessarily translate to reality, as they tend to fade from our everyday recollection. To remind you of your goals throughout the upcoming year, the following mnemonic might be helpful.

First, write down your resolutions and strategically place these notes in your home, car, and work area to constantly remind you of what you want to accomplish. Second, send yourself email reminders or mark your calendar. Creatively using associations and visualizations can help you remember and ultimately reach your goals by the end of the year. As you might have noticed, a recurring theme in our previous memory tips is that association and visualization are key strategies in making it easier to remember important information. These tricks help your brain become more conscious and attentive to the things you want to remember, which in turn makes them easier to recall later.

Memory Tip #4: A.C.R.O.N.Y.M.S.

By contributing author Paul Li, a neuroscience graduate student at Columbia.

Although acronyms are usually used to shorten a lengthy phrase, coming up with your own acronyms can be a helpful aid in remembering long grocery lists or building up your vocabulary for an upcoming exam. For those who don’t know, acronyms are formed using the first letter of each word in the phrase to be abbreviated. The encoding process becomes even stronger when the acronym can be associated with a previous experience or memory. It may also help if you are able to come up with a little chime or creative story. This is most effective if it relates to what you are attempting to put into memory.For example, the acronym PEMDAS can be used to remember the order of operations in mathematics; starting with parenthesis, followed by exponents, multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction. To make memorizing this acronym easier it can also stand for ‘Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally’ or ‘Panda Express Makes Delicious Avocado Soup’. The importance of association, again, refers back to our previous memory tip on improving effective encoding of peoples’ names.

Early Biomarker for Alzheimer’s?

By contributing author Paul Li, a neuroscience graduate student at Columbia.

Researchers from Stanford might have found a biological marker for Alzheimer’s disease via a simple blood test. This is exciting news given that it might predict the onset of the disease several years before the symptoms begin. The procedure involves examining 18 key proteins in the blood that are typical in Alzheimer’s patients. Preliminary tests have been 90% accurate at detecting the disease. Dr Susanne Sorensen, of the Alzheimer’s Society, said that “Early diagnosis is essential if we are ever to develop treatments that can change the course or halt the progression of dementia rather than just treat the symptoms.”

Memory Tip #3: What’s in a name.

By contributing author Paul Li, a neuroscience graduate student at Columbia.

If you are like me and have trouble remembering the names of people you first meet, then this mnemonic is dedicated to you. A helpful way to remember names is to say that person’s name after meeting him, and from then on associating his name with something interesting (i.e. his appearance, a rhyme, or an image). By making associations with his name, it strengthens effective encoding in the brain. Inventing the association helps your brain encode the information at least twice, by hearing it from the person and by verbalizing it yourself. It also helps to use the name throughout the conversation, since rehearsal and attention are the key components for memory retention (just don’t overdo it).

Memory Tip #2: Chunking memories and monsters

By contributing author Paul Li, a neuroscience graduate student at Columbia.

Memory strategies – or mnemonics – can be used to help you put things into memory so that they’re easier to remember later. Those who forget their keys or have trouble remembering peoples’ names could benefit from these tips. We previously described a way to use the linking technique to make it easier to remember a grocery list. What if the elements don’t fit together as a story?

“Chunking” is a common technique used to remember several items. Specifically, chunking is used to break down a long series of units into easy-to-remember groupings. Phone numbers or social security numbers, which are usually broken up into 3 to 4 digits by hyphens, make use of chunking.

Using this strategy in Monster Garden, one of the Lumosity spatial memory games, you can group monsters together into a single memory element. For example, if 5 monsters display but 3 of them form a triangle, try to remember the triangle of monsters plus the other 2 individual monsters. This will require 3 working memory slots as opposed to 5. See if you can improve your Monster Garden score with this approach. Chunking is also linked to advanced skills, such as expertise in chess, and ultimately captures the idea that we can remember more things if we chunk them together into groups.

Cell phone use and brain activity

By contributing author Paul Li, a neuroscience graduate student at Columbia.
Ever since the advent of cellular phones, horror stories have been circulating on issues about its safety, particularly the effects it has on the human brain. Some have become increasingly worried and resort to using an ear piece whenever they are on the phone. While others, like myself included, make sure that their cell phones are no where close to their heads when sleeping. I’ve met people who become agitated when a cell phone antenna is pointing in their direction. Amongst the public’s concern, I was soon caught up in buying a “Safe Guard,” a round sticker that fits nicely on top of the receiving end of the phone, to reduce Electromagnetic Waves, or so the company claimed.

Although no studies have shown a correlation between cell phone use and brain damage, the International Journal of Neuroscience published a study that found a slower EEG brain wave pattern during cell phone use. This difference in brain activity was subtle – within the normal range – but may reflect a
different state of awareness. In fact, they also discovered that frequent cell phone users performed better in selective attention tasks. It’s possible that talking on the phone in the midst of the bustling world’s distractions requires a level of concentration that effectively works as cognitive training of attention.