Trevor Ponder Human Memory

Some people are better than others at remembering what they have just seen — holding mental pictures in mind from moment to moment. An individual’s capacity for such visual working memory can be predicted by his or her brainwaves, researchers funded by the NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health have discovered.

A key brain electrical signal leveled off when the number of objects held in mind exceeded a subject’s capacity to accurately remember them, while it continued to soar in those with higher capacity, report University of Oregon psychologist Edward Vogel, Ph.D., and graduate student Maro Machizawa.

Analogous to a computer’s RAM, working memory is the ever-changing content of our consciousness. It’s been known for years that people have a limited capacity to hold things in mind that they’ve just seen, varying from 1.5 to 5 objects. “Our study identifies signals from brain areas that hold these visual representations and allows us to coarsely decode them, revealing how many objects are being held and their location in the visual field,” explained Vogel.

To find out if the amplitude of detectable signals reflects the number of objects held in visual memory, the researchers presented 36 subjects with a series of trials containing an increasing number of objects. Subjects briefly viewed a picture containing colored squares, followed by a one-second delay, and then a test picture. They pressed buttons to indicate whether the test picture was identical to — or differed by one color — from the one seen earlier. The more squares a subject could correctly identify having just seen, the greater his/her visual working memory capacity. Subjects averaged 2.8 squares.

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Electrodes on the scalp recorded neural activity during the one-second delay to pinpoint signals reflecting activity of brain areas involved in holding the images in working memory. Asking subjects to remember just one of two sets of colored squares that appeared on the left and right sides of the screen revealed signals near the opposite rear side of the head as emanating from the brain area involved.

The researchers found that the more squares a subject correctly identified, the higher the spike of corresponding brain activity — up to a point. Amplitude of the signal for correct trials was much higher than incorrect ones, suggesting that the delay activity specifically reflects the maintenance of successful representations in visual memory. Neural activity of subjects with poorer working memory scores leveled off early, showing little or no increase when the number of squares to remember increased from 2 to 4, while those with high capacity, who correctly remembered more squares, showed large increases.

Using a similar task with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a research team at Vanderbilt University reports in the same issue of Nature that the posterior parietal cortex, an area at the top rear part of the brain, is the brain area responsible for holding representations in visual working memory — and likely source of the signal in the Oregon study.

“Simply by measuring the amplitude increase across memory array sizes, we can accurately predict an individual’s memory capacity,” said Vogel.

Since working memory capacity is strongly predictive of performance on a broad array of cognitive abilities — reasoning, language, flexible problem solving — Vogel foresees the physiological measure as finding applications in assessing individuals who are behaviorally or verbally impaired, such as in cases of stroke or paralysis. The technique has also been used to study development of cognitive abilities in pre-verbal children.

Memory Techniques mental pictures, visual memory

Having a good memory whether it is at home or at work can be instrumental when there are many things going on and deadlines to meet. In the business world, your career skills will depend heavily on your memory, such as knowing how to dealing with a crisis, or using your memory to recall information of a potential client when trying to close a deal. Recalling important information at the right time can be what propels you to the next level in the organization.

However, in order to truly be able to call on your memory when it really counts, you will need to learn to give yourself and your brain some time to relax—a few minutes of peace and relaxation may be all you need in order to improve your memory, grabbing that moment of success. Successful businesses recognize that in order to help their employees be successful, they must have time away from work in order to refresh their mind and body. Those that work through lunch or don’t take any breaks away from their desk are less effective and efficient.

Some businesses are so in-tuned with helping their employees take time away from their desk they have implemented gyms, daycares, and even saunas. This is designed to help employees relax and take care of themselves, which in turn helps the company to be successful.

Additionally, when you work on your memory skills, conducting successful business meetings, lunch meetings or parties where you will have to recall important names or events, will be very useful. Should you remember a detail or person’s name incorrectly, that could be devastating to your career.

An example of a business that makes a good faith effort to remember customer’s names was when banks were giving away a dollar to customers when the teller didn’t greet them by their name. While this was only a temporary “gimmick” it is a good example of how important customer relations are and that people like being remembered.

In essence, working on your memory skills is vital for any job that you may have. If improving your memory skills is not important to you and you feel that you can get by with a minimal amount of effort, then your career potential could be very limited. Specifically, if you forget essential tools for your job, or where a customer’s location is, or forgot to wash your uniform, which is a requirement for your job, then your career may be short-lived, at least with that employer. Your boss and your co-workers need to know they can count on you.

Lifestyle for Better Memory, Memory Techniques memory skills

Because scientists are still researching the ins and outs of human memory it is difficult to say how it works and how it can be enhanced. Nevertheless, there are a number of natural substances that have been thoroughly studied over the last few years which have been shown to have a positive effect on human memory. One of my assistants was able to collect the following information. But before you read this, or take any action, you must understand that you should always consult your physician – this email is for educational purposes only and I do not take any liability in your use of these.

Some substances you might want to research more include:

· Epicatechin – scientific testing has shown that this naturally occurring flavinol – which is found in tea, cocoa, grapes and blueberries – produces a significant functional change in the area of the brain that is commonly associated with memory and learning. Scientists now believe that a diet rich in Epicetechin could help to reduce the prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases in later life.

· Club moss – this has been used in Chinese medicine for centuries however it has only recently been discovered that the herb contains two active ingredients – huperzine A and huperzine B – which help to prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine in the brain. Acetylcholine is a vital neurotransmitter that conveys messages from one nerve cell to another and is thought to be involved in the movement of memories from short term to long term storage and back again. Club moss can be drunk as a tea on a daily basis or taken as a tablet or capsule.

· Ginkgo Biloba – this herb has many functions however it is probably best known for its brain boosting abilities. It has been shown to improve memory and reduce the symptoms of senility and dementia. This is thought to occur because Ginkgo has a dilating effect on the blood vessels of the body and so when taken regularly it can increase the blood flow to the brain and therefore the amount of oxygen as well.

· Rosemary – this herb has been used in cooking for thousands of years and recently it has been touted as a very good memory enhancer. Rosemary contains an active ingredient called carnosic acid which has potent antioxidant properties. When taken over a period of time, the antioxidant ingredient helps to combat free radicals in the body – which are thought to contribute to premature aging and memory loss. The herb also contains a substance called acetylcholinestrase inhibitor which again prevents the breakdown of acetylcholine in the brain’s cells.

· Gotu Kola – this herb has been used in Chinese and Indian medicine for centuries and is now available as tablets and capsules. It contains strong antioxidants that help to rid the body, and especially the brain, from the damaging effects of free radicals. Free radicals are thought to contribute to cellular death and premature memory loss as a consequence.

· Vitamin B complex – the B vitamins are required by the body for many reasons, one of which is that they help the neurotransmitter acetylcholine to work as it should in the brain. They also assist with the transporting of oxygen to the brain via the blood system and so a vitamin B deficiency can result in slow thinking and poor memory. Vitamin B is found in high quantities in lentils, soybeans, liver and eggs plus it is widely available as a dietary supplement.

These are just some of the natural substances that have been found to help with memory enhancement. No doubt there are many more in the world but until they are researched more thoroughly you’ll have to stick with these.

Memory Techniques improve memory, memory food