In recent months there have been numerous reports in the media about memory improvement, and some leading news sources have done stories relating to the importance of brain fitness. For example, articles and features about some of the new memory improvement products that are available today have appeared in “US News & World Report,” “MSNBC,” and on “PBS” stations.
Broadly speaking, there are four ways that people can improve memory performance. These are external memory aids, internal memory aids, brain fitness exercises, and physical fitness.
External Memory Aids
External memory aids are easy to use and can be very effective. If you keep a calendar, use photo albums or scrapbooks, or journal in a diary, then you already know just how effective they are. An external memory aid is something you do outside your brain that helps you remember. Do you have difficulties remembering where you put your keys or glasses? One simple solution is a memory box, a place you put all the stuff that you carry with you when you leave the home. Calendars, another common memory aid, help us remember to do things in the future; they improve our prospective memory. (Click here for a summary of a scholarly journal article related to this topic:
abstract 19)
Internal Memory Aids
Internal memory aids are things we do inside our brains to improve recollection. Sometimes referred to as mnemonic devices, internal memory aids include a variety of techniques that utilize memory-enhancing strategies. Perhaps you know that ROYGBIV represents the colors of light spectrum (R = red; O = orange; Y = yellow; G = green; B = blue; I = indigo; and V = violet). This is a common form of mnemonic know as reduction coding. Reduction coding and other mnemonics are effective ways to recall lists of items such as a grocery list. There are also mnemonic devices available to improve memory for names and events. (Click here for a summary of scholarly journal article related to this topic: abstract 1; abstract 9; abstract 12; abstract 17)
Brain Fitness Exercises
Brain fitness exercises include a variety of mental tasks that are intended to stimulate the brain and enhance memory and other aspects of cognitive functioning. Brain fitness products range from puzzles (crosswords and sudoku) to highly targeted computer software programs or hand held games. In contrast to external and internal memory aids, which utilize specific strategies to improve recollection of certain memories, brain fitness exercises are intended to broadly improve mental functioning. This approach likens the brain to a muscle. Muscles grow and remain fit with exercise; without exercise they shrink. Just like we exercise to keep our bodies fit, mental exercise may keep our brains fit. There is growing evidence that brain fitness exercises increase memory and cognitive performance and that people perceive these changes. However, the usefulness of these strategies hinges on people using them as intended and using them over time. (Click here for summaries of scholarly journal articles related to this topic: abstract 5; abstract 15; abstract 16; abstract 20).
One important concept that underlies the brain fitness revolution is plasticity. Plasticity is the idea that the brain is able to change its functioning and underlying structure in response to mental effort or training. Such changes occur at several levels, including changes in the production of neurotransmitters, dendrite growth on individual neurons, and growth of the neural networks that support thinking. It was once believed that the older human brain was not very adaptable or plastic. This view was inline with the notion that “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” Obviously this was wrong. There is ample evidence that older adults can acquire new information. Just visit any major university and you’ll find a cadre of older “returning students” learning new things. Although the notion of brain plasticity is established, the extent and scope of plasticity in the brain is currently a hot topic among brain researchers. (Click here for a summary of a scholarly journal article related to this topic: abstract 14)
Some of the available brain fitness programs have been shown to be effective at improving cognitive performance for the kinds of tasks that are trained by the program. For example, people who do crossword puzzles maintain and improve their skills for such puzzles. But, do the benefits of such exercises extend to other aspects of cognitive performance? This is the issue of generalization. The generalization of brain fitness programs has not yet been well studied. There is currently a clinical trial of the Brain Fitness Program (Posit Science Corporation) that has demonstrated generalization of its auditory training exercises to a range of auditory tasks, including a variety of memory tasks. (Click here for a summary of a scholarly journal article related to this topic: abstract 14)
Physical Fitness
In addition to brain fitness and memory aids, physical fitness has been shown to maintain and increase memory function and cognitive performance (Churchill et al., 2003). For example, those who maintain cardiovascular fitness by performing aerobic exercise have demonstrated less brain aging than those who do not exercise (Colcombe et al., 2003). Today people are more physically fit than in the past, and this trend is proving to be beneficial for brain fitness (Lautenschlager & Almerda, 2006). Aerobic exercise, lightweight training, and stretching, have each been shown to be important for healthy aging. (Click here for a summary of a scholarly journal article related to this topic: abstract 18) |
