We have learned about the way our brains retain memories, the process that is involved, how the brain cells talk to each other, and how permanent memories are created by moving through the hippocampus, and then remaining as permanent records in the various areas of our brain.
Now we will look at the challenges we face as we get older, in terms of our memory, and how we can preserve and even improve our memory as we age.
In the previous articles, we learned that our ability to remember, to lay down permanent memories, and to bring them to our conscious mind, even years later, is dependent on the efficient communication between brain cells, and a healthy hippocampus that acts as a sorting centre, that sends information to the various parts of the brain where they are stored.
OUR AGING BRAIN
As we age, the connections between brain cells decrease because of the decrease in an important brain chemical called acetylcholine. This chemical sits in the space between brain cells, and when information must pass from one brain cell to another, this chemical acts as a messenger to move the information along. Without this chemical, the transmission of information between cells doesn’t happen. We also lose the insulation that surrounds the brain cells when we get older. This loss of insulation is like an electrical wire that loses the insulating material around it. What happens with a wire when this insulation is removed? It creates a short circuit, does it not? The same thing happens in our brains. Because of this “short circuiting,” the information gets lost and doesn’t reach the area of the brain cell that connects it to the next brain cell. Because of this lack of communication between brain cells, it is harder to develop and retain new memories.
Also, memories must travel through the hippocampus in order to become permanently stored in the various areas of our brain. Already at the age of 30, the hippocampus begins to lose volume; it loses 5% of its size for every decade of our life. By the time we are 80 years old, the hippocampus has lost 20% of its volume. With a smaller hippocampus, its ability to sort information becomes less efficient, and the laying down of permanent memories is impaired. The total volume of the brain also shrinks as you age.
Learning and memory is often described in terms of three functions. Acquisition refers to the introduction of new information into the brain. This can only occur when we are conscious, or awake. Consolidation refers to the process where a memory becomes stable, or permanent. Studies have shown that consolidation of memory takes place when we are asleep, through the strengthening of brain connections. Recall is the ability to access the information, either consciously or unconsciously, after it has been stored. Typical aging causes a decrease in each of these three functions, to varying degrees.
Aging also affects a person’s “executive functioning”, which is the ability to perform a series of actions that are involved in a complex task. By the age of 45, most people also develop problems with word-finding. If you are over this age, think of how many times you couldn’t remember the word for something, or someone’s name, during a conversation. This is normal and not anything to be concerned about. The speed of acquiring and processing information also slows down; it takes more time to memorize. And then, even if the memory is retained in our brains, we have more trouble accessing or recalling the memory. However, our brain cannot tolerate unanswered questions, so that even when we are sleeping, our brain is trying to remember something we had forgotten. How many times, when you have forgotten a name, it comes back to you hours later, when you weren’t even thinking about it? This is your brain, working in the background, unconsciously trying to solve the problem of the forgotten name. It is also easier to get sidetracked by something, and then you can’t remember what you were planning to do before you were interrupted. We don’t sleep as well when we get older, therefore, the consolidation part of our memory is also affected.
But, all is not lost. Despite the obvious changes in our memory as we age, studies show that even people in their 80’s still have a good ability for memory. Memory loss can also be prevented or slowed if we avoid those factors that damage our memory, and act on those things that help us retain and even improve our memory. We will learn about these in the next sections.
FACTORS WHICH CAUSE MEMORY IMPAIRMENT
Unlike the aging process which none of us can do anything about, there are many factors that can worsen memory that we have control over. Avoiding these will ensure that we are not doing anything to actively harm the memory centers of our brain.
Alcohol kills brain cells, especially in the memory centers. Excessive alcohol use over many years can cause a brain disorder called Korsakoff’s syndrome, where severe memory loss is the most significant symptom. Even if a person doesn’t develop Korsakoff’s, brain cells are killed, and memory is impaired to a certain degree with continued alcohol use.
Recent studies are also proving that people who have many depressive episodes over their lifetime have changes in the brain that also affect their ability to learn new memories. Depression uses up a lot of brain energy, and not much energy is left over for less life-preserving duties. Memory retrieval becomes inconsistent. Prolonged periods of depression can actually damage brain cells. Because depression also affects sleep, this also contributes to memory problems.
Concussions and head injuries also affect our memory. Many children fall and hit their heads multiple times and do not suffer damage to their brains. However, if you have more than several hundred concussions over your life time, this will affect your memory. We can see this in athletes who have had multiple concussions, especially those who play contact sports such as football, soccer and hockey. They often end up with permanent brain damage. The more serious concussions occur if you suffer a hit on the front of your head, where the bone is thinner.
Another factor that causes memory problems is chronic pain. When someone is in pain, it takes “wattage” away from the brain and therefore depletes the brain of some of its energy. Pain involves an emotional perceptions and the physical state of ain. Pain is disabling, and thus affects memory.
Various lifestyle factors also affect memory. Poor diet, obesity, diabetes, smoking, chronic lung diseases, and increased blood pressure contribute to problems with memory. Some of these illnesses prohibit nutrients and oxygen from getting to the brain. Obese persons develop what is called “metabolic syndrome.” This syndrome occurs when the fat accumulates in the abdominal area, which then creates an inability to process sugars properly, causing inflammation in the body, which damages blood vessels and destroys brain cells. With 1/3 of children in the developed countries being overweight, at a time when their brains are still not fully developed, they can develop lifelong problems with memory, because their brain development has been affected by the damage caused by obesity. Increases in blood pressure and plaque development damages arteries, which decreases blood flow to the brain. Brain cells are damaged from lack of nutrients and oxygen.
Free radicals, which are the by-products of the body’s metabolism, increase as we age. According to some theories, we age because cells accumulate free-radical damage over time. The same theories indicate that free radicals are the most destructive agent contributing to the aging of the brain.
MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT
Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is a condition in which a person has more memory loss than what the average person their age my have, but they can still carry out the normal activities of life. Symptoms include misplacing items, forgetting events or appointments, having trouble coming up with words. These people also have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s.
ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
Alzheimer’s disease makes up 50% of all dementias. The biggest risk factor to developing Alzheimer’s is age. The risk of Alzheimer’s also increases because of poor diet, and other health problems. With the population becoming increasingly older, with people being able to live longer because of advances in medicine keeping people alive who would have died in the past, more cases of Alzheimer’s exist. 35% of people over the age of 80 have Alzheimer’s. Only 10% of people who have Alzheimer’s have another family member with the disease. 90% of Alzheimer’s develops with no family history of the disease.
In Alzheimer’s disease, the hippocampus is destroyed, and a person is not able to lay down permanent memories. It causes “rapid-forgetting.” A person who has Alzheimer’s is not able to recall words after two minutes. The ability to convert short-term memory to long-term memory is not possible. When trying to name something, words are switched around, and the person uses words that are similar to the word they cannot remember. As the disease progresses, the person loses decades of memory, decade by decade, with only the earliest memories of their life being able to be recalled. Events from childhood can still be accessed, but they cannot remember what they had for their most recent meal. Long-term memory is not initially affected because these memories have already been stored in other parts of the brain; the hippocampus is not needed to retrieve long-term memories. Eventually, most areas of the brain begin to shrink or atrophy, and more than just memory is affected. They lose the ability to perform the most simple tasks that they have been used to doing all their lives, such as dressing, tying shoelaces, or even feeding themselves. The motor cortex, the area of the brain that contains the memory for movement is affected and many people with Alzheimer’s eventually forget how to walk. Trying to orient a person with Alzheimer’s to their current age and year can be very distressing as their memories are all based in the past.
So, how do we strengthen the connections between our brain cells and avoid damage to the memory centres of the brain?
MEMORY PRESERVATION
Chronic stress is a condition that most people in this fast-paced world complain about, there is never enough time for families, not enough time to exercise, to take care proper care of one’s health, worrying about getting all the household tasks done, looking after children, working long hours, with not enough pay, etc. However, to stay healthy, we need to avoid this chronic stress. When we experience a stressful situation, our bodies produce a hormone called cortisol, which helps us deal with the stress. In the short-term, cortisol is necessary as it increases our sensory abilities, speeds up our reaction time, and keeps us alert. When the stressful event is over, our body gets rid of the cortisol by excreting it via our kidneys.
Optimal performance often involves some level of stress, so that our body has an improved ability to cope with the stress. However, when the adrenal glands, which produce cortisol, are repeatedly triggered to work in conditions of chronic stress, high levels of cortisol stay in our bodies. These high cortisol levels in our body cause inflammation, which, in turn, causes damage to all the cells in our body. Cortisol specifically destroys cells in the memory centers of our brains, which include the cerebral cortex, where memory is stored, and the hippocampus which is the sorting centre for memories. In periods of high stress, we find it difficult to make new memories. Students, who feel a lot of pressure in school have difficulty with learning new things because of the affect that stress has on the memory centres of the brain. Stress increases when we don’t feel we have control over our lives, when all the worries of life overwhelm us, when we have unresolved conflicts that we constantly ruminate about. It takes up brain energy.
As Christians, we have a way to deal with stress that the rest of the world doesn’t have. We have a way that allows us to feel in control of our lives, and that is by putting our trust in God, by not relying on our own inadequate abilities to cope when stressful situations occur. “Come unto Me, all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28. “By prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God, which passeth understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6–7
The brain depends on the energy it receives from oxygen. 20% of the oxygen that we take in when we breathe is used by the brain for all of its various functions. New brain connections develop in the presence of oxygen. Depleting the body of oxygen will make prevent these connections from being made. With decreased connections, memory is impaired, and memory loss takes place. Regular exercise provides oxygen to the brain. As our aerobic fitness improves, we are able to bring more oxygen to our brain in a more efficient manner. Exercise also prevents obesity, and increased cholesterol levels in the blood, which prevents oxygen-rich blood from flowing to the brain.
When we establish intimate relationships with others, when we maintain our family ties, when we interact regularly with others, and perform activities that increase our feelings of usefulness, when we decrease loneliness, and live in a supportive environment, our brain function improves. Church attendance is a way to establish significant connections with other people of like faith, with the same goals and interests. The most significant relationship that helps to maintain our brains is our connection to God.
When it comes to our brains, the old adage, “use it or lose it” is a true fact. People who continually learn throughout their lives have more synaptic connections in their brain. Even older adults can improve brain function by stimulating the brain by new learning. This can be done by learning a new skill, developing a new hobby. Keeping the brain stimulated and active by doing various puzzles, such as jigsaw puzzles, word puzzles such as Sudoku and crosswords will also maintain brain function. Reading is also brain stimulating. Reading the Bible is the most stimulating reading we can do. “The Bible is the best book in the world for giving intellectual culture. Its study taxes the mind, strengthens the memory, and sharpens the intellect more than the study of all the subjects that human philosophy embraces.” –Gospel Workers, p. 99
Stimulating environments increase the amount of dendrites, or branches on our brain cells. These branches allow for communication with other cells. Brain cells with more dendrites have more connections to other brain cells, and have increased communication abilities with other brain cells.
Our diet can affect our memory. Eating anti-oxidant rich foods will decrease the free radical levels in our body. This involves eating multiple coloured fruits and vegetables. Blueberries have been proven to be the most memory-protective food available. We need to avoid sugar and saturated fats which increase inflammation in our body, and put plaque onto our arteries. Eat foods rich in Vitamin C and E, which are anti-oxidant vitamins. Include B12, folic acid, and Omega-3 fatty acids, which have also been found to protect our memory. Vegans need to include a B12 supplement to prevent B12 deficiencies. The one thing to note is that gingko, which has been promoted as improving memory, has been shown to have no positive effect on memory.
“You are a gourmand when at the table. This is one great cause of your forgetfulness and loss of memory.” –Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 138
When studying, we can improve our memory of new facts by studying one subject at a time. Our brain needs to consolidate the information that was previously learned before new learning should take place. During the course of a day, students are provided teaching in a variety of different subjects. The problem is that often new learning later in the day interferes with learning earlier in the day. Memory is also enhanced with multiple inputs of new facts, i.e. visual, hearing, asking questions. When a teacher announces to his students at the end of a class that a quiz will be held, based on what was taught during that class, he is using one of the methods that improve learning. If we are quizzed on information that we learned we remember it better. Even whe we give Bible studies to people, we should do a quick quiz at the end of the Bible study to see what the Bible student remembers. This will help them remember what we taught them.
One-third of our lives are spent sleeping. Sleep calibrates our circadian rhythms, decreases the cortisol levels in our body, and reduces blood pressure. Also, when we sleep, information that we learned is moved into long-term storage. Sleeping after learning new material helps to consolidate it in our brains, to create permanent memories. Disrupted sleep patterns interfere with learning and memory. Many students stay up all night, studying, working on assignments and preparing for exams. The problem is that when students don’t get a good night’s sleep, their memory is impaired, and they will do not as well on tests and assignments. Adolescents especially, suffer from poor memory because school schedules do not align with their body rhythms and they suffer from chronic sleep deprivation.
Sleep apnea is a condition in which people, as they sleep, have breathing pattern characterized by long pauses in breathing, or in abnormally low breaths. Sometimes these pauses in breathing last anywhere from 10 seconds to minutes at a time, and can occur anywhere from 5-30 times an hour. Risk factors for developing sleep apnea include being overweight, having diabetes, and aging. People with sleep apnea are damaging specific areas parts of the brain, all of which are involved in learning and memory. The result is impaired executive functioning, increased difficulty in paying attention, and in processing information. Sleep-disordered breathing is associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and strokes. This damage occurs because the pauses in breathing prevent adequate levels of oxygen reaching the brain. Severe sleep apnea can result in permanent brain damage and even death. The various treatments for sleep apnea prevent these pauses in breathing.
Our procedural memory, i.e. skills, is not affected by disrupted sleep patterns. This is the reason why healthcare professionals, who often go for 24 hours without sleep, are still able to use their skills in caring for patients without making mistakes when they are sleep deprived.
We have learned much about memory over the last three months: We learned how our brain takes in information and stores it, and how memory can either be a blessing to us or a curse; we have learned the value of cultivating the habits that fit us for heaven, and now we know what we must do to preserve our memory. The Spirit of Prophecy provides us with the final words regarding the importance of memory to our salvation. “It is for our own benefit to keep every gift of God fresh in our memory. Thus faith is strengthened to claim and to receive more and more. There is greater encouragement for us in the least blessing we ourselves receive from God than in all the accounts we can read of the faith and experience of others. The soul that responds to the grace of God shall be like a watered garden. His health shall spring forth speedily; his light shall shine in obscurity, and the glory of the Lord shall be seen upon him. Let us then remember the loving-kindness of the Lord, and the multitude of His tender mercies.” –The Desire of Ages, p. 348 (emphasis mine). AMEN.