Category: Memory Disorders

Thanks for the Memories

Thanks for the Memories.  This was a song made famous by “Les Brown and his Band of Renown.”  In the 1960’s and 70’s I recall Bob Hope specials on television with Les Brown conducting his signature song.  I was of course a neonate at the time, so my recollection depends upon the generosity of my elders.  Unfortunately, truth be told, I recall these TV specials from childhood and early adolescence.  I was indifferent to his music at the time,  yet I still recall Les Brown’s name and can hum his tune.  What purpose could there be in retaining this trivial information?

Consider memory as a storage house of our five senses.  Smell is strangely the most powerful initiator of old memories, with hearing, touch, taste and vision not far behind.  The greater the interconnection of the senses, the greater the chance of the memory being retained and recalled.  For example, reading about building a model airplane is easily forgotten.  Reading then watching someone else build the plane solidifies the memory.  Actually assisting someone else build the plane after reading and watching further enhances recall and subsequent successful performance.  The auditory memory channel was strengthened by the visual, and locked into place by the motor/tactile.  Each sensory channel leading into the storehouse is strengthened by repetition.  It appears that repetition across days is better at storage than repetition across minutes, or even hours.  Consolidation of memory during sleep may be a factor, but this has yet to be proven.  Two hours of effort-full practice a day over ten years typically leads to mastering nearly any skill.  Like a road or river, the greater flow produces a larger pathway.

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Perhaps retaining the memory of “Les Brown and his Band of Renown” was not so trivial after all.  In order to commit any type of information to memory, the use of multiple senses over several days will increase the amount and strength of memory storage.  Linking personal with extra-personal events further solidifies memories into long-term storage.  Memories that remain strong over many years expose their importance.  Many people want to forget strong memories.  Perhaps listening to their call across the years is wiser than ignoring their pleas.  Please leave comments in the space provided below.

Memory Disorders

Memory Disorders, like “learning disabilities”, is not a term you will find in the “Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.”  Neither term is found in either edition.  This is the guide used by many American insurance companies for procedure codes and diagnostic criteria.  “Memory Disorder” is an oft used term by professionals and laypeople alike.  It is likely most people are trying to describe difficulty recalling verbal or visual information, in the absence of another cognitive impairment.  The DSM system refers to memory disorders as an “Amnestic Disorder.”

It is good to rule out a medical factor affecting a person’s ability to think; that is their cognition.  The official diagnostic nomenclature is an “Amnestic Syndrome (due to a general medical condition)”.  The first thing to realize is that a memory impairment caused by a medical condition is generally of rapid onset and dramatic.  Trauma to the central nervous system is the most common cause.  Viral and bacterial infections of the brain may cause mild to profound memory impairments as well.  The damaging factor does not have to originate in the central nervous system.  Low oxygen saturation in the blood and bodily dehydration are common causes of a memory impairment secondary to a medical condition.  Specific vitamin deficiencies may cause memory impairment, as well as unwanted reactions to many medications.  Most of these medical conditions also reduce attention, vigilance, and orientation to one’s environment.  Perhaps the most difficult to detect are sub-clinical vitamin deficiencies and dehydration that test within the average range, but produce a measurable decline in cognitive performance.

What should we expect from our memories in the first place?  By the age of 50, we all begin to have a reduced ability to find names for things, and difficulty recalling verbal information without some prompt or context.  Many people call this the CRS Syndrome; alternately entitled “can’t remember sh–.”  The differential diagnosis is the recognition memory of the person.  Utilizing memory tests with a recognition component reduces the gulf between chronological ages.  It is also necessary to utilize tests that have been normalized on different age groups.  These tests attempt to make a level playing field between different ages.  The differential diagnosis between normal aging and a dementia should be performed by a trained professional.

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If you believe you have a memory impairment, consider consulting a neuropsychologist.  They will administer tests normed for your specific age, and often education as well.  Do not consider yourself diagnosed based upon a test in a magazine or on the internet.  Memory is built upon other cognitive skills, such that verbal or visual memory should not be assessed in isolation.

Many people confuse poor immediate attention as a memory impairment.  It is likely at the root of many medical causes of an “Amnestic Disorder.”  The ability to sustain one’s attention over time is called “vigilance”.  If a person has poor immediate attention, they will have difficulty encoding new verbal and visual information.  If, after a delay, the person can recall the same small amount of information, then attention is likely a greater factor then memory.  It is also difficult for the attention impaired to chunk (organize) information for greater recall.

The initial step in the diagnosis of a “memory disorder” is to administer tests to determine if the disorder exists.  If the disorder exists, then consider ruling out medical factors causing the poor visual and/or verbal memory functioning.  If no medical factors can be determined, then the next step is remediation.  Immediate attention is the most proven remediable skill.  The remaining treatments are largely compensatory strategies to build on the patient’s cognitive strengths.  Please leave comments regarding this post on “memory disorders” in the space provided below.