Why Memories Cannot Really Be “Stored” Anywhere
A song might capture the immaterial nature of memoryWhere exactly is a popular song located? It lives in memory, human and recorded, in many forms. But it occupies no spatial location.
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For a Long Time, Dementia Was the New Leprosy
It has often been treated with fear and exclusion. Maybe there is more hope nowDementia is not “inevitable,” in the sense that it would happen no matter what else is in play. Nature is rarely like that. Decisions matter.
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Will We Care For or Kill Dementia Patients?
I believe that people need to be aware of the unthinkable actions, once (properly) deemed abandonment, that are now being advocated at the highest levels of cultural influenceThaddeus Mason Pope’s argument is an argument not to avoid suffering but to not be a “burden” and to put oneself out of loved ones’ misery.
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Lifestyle Factors Associated With the Risk of Early Dementia
Here are the factors that researchers found in a study of over 350,000 people to be significantly associated young-onset dementia (YOD)Correlations can provide valuable information but they are not causation and they need to be assessed carefully.
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Is Dementia Research Missing the Forest for the Trees?
Sudden bouts of lucidity in people with dementia are understudied, researchers admitCurrent treatments for dementia are not very effective; capturing the mysterious moments of paradoxical lucidity may point to new and better ones.
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Sparks and Flashes of Remembrance
An expert in memory-loss treatment recalls some tender stories about memory in the midst of forgetfulnessIn a recent Mind Matters podcast episode, neurosurgeon Michael Egnor (Mike), a frequent contributor to the site, interviewed friend and colleague Stephen Post, an expert in memory-loss-related disorders. Here’s a snippet of their conversation, which you can enjoy in full by following this link. Mike Egnor: So to begin, your new book, Dignity for Deeply Forgetful People, why did you use that title and what do you mean by deeply forgetful people? Stephen Post: Well, that’s a fabulous question to begin with because the title doesn’t quite say it all, but it’s close. I’ve been working with deeply forgetful people and their caregivers since I went out to Case Medical School in 1988, and I have never felt comfortable with Read More ›
How Do Strokes, Dementia Offer Insight Into How the Brain Works?
Neurologist Andrew Knox thinks the brain may store memories is an associative scheme, where previous memories are used to build up new onesIn the podcast released last Thursday, Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviewed pediatric neurologist Dr. Andrew Knox from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health on “Ways the brain can break” (#220, January 5, 2023). What follows is from Part 3 of the discussion. Here’s Part 1: How our brains are — and aren’t — like computers and Part 2: What is happening when children have strokes or dementia signs? https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/Mind-Matters-220-Andrew-Knox-Episode-1.mp3 This portion begins at roughly 18:25 min. A partial transcript and notes, and Additional Resources follow. The discussion began with the question, “How does the brain store memories?” Andrew Knox: There are different schemes for storing memories, but patients with Alzheimer’s seem to have Read More ›
Ways the Brain Can Break
The brain is a marvelous organ still not understood. Artificial neural networks are supposed to be a simulation of the human brain. But comparing the brain to an artificial neural network is like comparing the human heart to a pump handle. Dr. Andrew Knox and Dr. Robert J. Marks discuss the brain, aging, and neurology. Additional Resources
Researchers Locate 440 Genes That Develop Each Brain Differently
Large-scale MRI and genetic datasets are helping us understand the common variants of the genes that help build the human cerebral cortexTo map regions of the brain to specific genes, researchers at the University of California – San Diego did genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of the regional cortical surface area and thickness of 39,898 adults and 9,136 children. That is, they scanned complete sets of DNA (genomes), looking for genetic variations. They were especially interested in variations that might be associated with a problem like autism, epilepsy, or dementia. By and large, construction of the human brain is determined by heredity, though factors like environmental exposures also play a role, particularly during sensitive periods of neurodevelopment during childhood. Large-scale MRI and genetic datasets have increasingly illuminated the common genetic variants that help build the human cerebral cortex — the outer, layered Read More ›
Do People Suddenly Gain Clarity About Life Just Before Dying?
A small number of cognitively challenged or dementia patients become lucid — for the first time in years — just before dyingThe percentage of people who suddenly become lucid on the point of death may be small but their stories are remarkable. The best known case was that of Anna Katharina Ehmer (1895–1922) who, due to mental disabilities, lived in a psychiatric institution called Hephata in Germany for most of her life (from 1896 to 1922). She … allegedly never spoken a single word during her life. Yet, she was reported to have sung dying songs for a half hour before she died. The case was reported by the head of this institution and by its chief physician. We consider it difficult to evaluate the authenticity of the case definitively in retrospect. Nevertheless, there are similar cases and a variety of Read More ›