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.

Are you smarter than a chimp?

Ayumu, a 7-year old chimp living in a lab at Kyoto University, was in the news the last month for his remarkable cognitive performance. In a test of working memory, Ayumu and 5 other chimpanzees were able to outclass college students. Watch him go at it here.

Have you got what it takes to outsmart a chimp? Pit your wits against Ayumu in the Chimp Game.

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.

New memory game and Lumosity points

Recent activities in the Lumosity brain training program:

We just released the latest memory exercise, titled Moneycomb, in which you must remember the location of coins in a honeycomb layout. This exercise targets attention and spatial working memory, and is now available from the trainer.

We also just introduced “Lumosity Points”, which are awarded for completing games and courses. Your Lumosity Points track your progress and succinctly show how much
training you’ve done. We’re still adding to and refining the Lumosity Points, so your comments are valuable.

Finally, we’re planning to launch the new Memory Boost training module at the end of next week. This will be a 10-session course focused on memory exercises, including memory tips and strategies. It will be available to all Lumosity members once they have completed the Basic Training course.

Cognitive training helps adults with memory problems

Adults with memory problems are still able to improve their cognitive performance with cognitive training, according to research published this week in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society.

Though adults with memory problems did not improve their impaired ability to memorize new material, they still had the capacity to improve in other areas. Specifically, the individuals with memory impairment improved just as much at reasoning and processing speed as those with normal memory.

The press release suggests:

“These findings could indicate the ability for older adults to maintain skills that allow them to carry out daily tasks and lead a higher quality of life.”

This finding is the result of further analysis from the ACTIVE (Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly) study, which is perhaps the largest and most ambitious study yet conducted to explore the effects of cognitive training. The ACTIVE study previously demonstrated that through training, elderly adults can improve in memory, processing speed, and reasoning. Last year, they additionally showed that some of these benefits are maintained 5 years after the training period.

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.”