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Bouncing back

(BBC 05/08/2009)

A footballer left paralysed signs for a Conference team. He suffered complete amnesia and is still unable to recall anything from the last 10 years apart from his love for football. He cannot recall playing for Oxford United at all. His mother Maggie Hughes, 55, said: "We went back to the simple things in life. "We did things like putting gum in his mouth to help him chew, lifting his arms and moving his fingers to make him use them. "It took time but eventually we got him to do it himself."

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Doodling 'may help memory recall'

(BBC 27/02/2009)

Plymouth University researchers carried out memory tests on 40 volunteers, asking them to listen to a phone call and recall names and places. Doodlers performed 29% better than non-doodlers, the team found. Experts said doodling stopped people from daydreaming, which was a more taxing diversion, and so was good at helping people focus on mundane tasks.

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Brain training devices 'no better than doing a crossword'

(BBC 26/02/2009)

People who spend money on brain trainers to keep their mind sharp may well get the same benefit from simply doing a crossword, experts conclude. Consumer group Which? asked three experts to check claims made about several devices, including the Nintendo DS, on memory and staving off dementia. They found the evidence behind such claims was non-existent or "weak".

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Quilting pottery and computer games 'may cut risk of dementia'

(Telegraph 17/02/2009)

A study looked at the habits of 197 elderly people who suffered from mild cognitive impairment, or diagnosed memory loss, which can be an early warning sign of dementia, and 1,124 people with no memory problems. Those who kept mentally active in their middle age, through reading, arts and crafts and other pursuits, were about 40% less likely to develop memory loss than those who did not.

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Single cell 'can store memories'

(BBC 26/01/2009)

Just one brain cell is capable of holding fleeting memories vital for our everyday life, according to US scientists. A study of mouse brain cells revealed how they could keep information stored for as long as a minute. A UK specialist said that understanding these short-term memories might help unlock the secrets of Alzheimer's Disease.

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Distractions 'hit old-age memory'

(BBC 26/11/2008)

Mental slowing down in old age can be blamed partly on being more easily distracted, research suggests. A Canadian team gave young and old people a memory test while a scanner showing which bits of their brain were working. The older subjects did worse at the tests, and their brains responded more to the background buzzing and banging from the scanner itself [more research required].

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Memory lapses may be sign of shrinking brain

(Daily Mail 06/10/2008)

Occasional memory lapses such as forgetting the name of a friend may be symptoms of a shrinking brain, researchers have found. Scans revealed that a brain area linked to memory is smaller in people whose ability to remember or concentrate fails them now and then. Brain scans showed that the hippocampus was smaller in people who had memory problems than in people who did not.

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Sleep clue to age memory decline

(BBC 30/07/2008)

Scientists may have uncovered why some people naturally lose their ability to make new memories as they get older [Based on rat experiments].

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Memory loss: Will sage oil help?

(The Independent 08/04/2008)

Possible use of sage (salvia) in memory loss based on a 2003 study of effects on the young and fit. There is a forthcoming report by Australian researchers suggesting benefit in older people.

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