Prolonged rote learning produces delayed memory facilitation and metabolic changes in the hippocampus of the ageing human brain.

BMC Neuroscience
Richard Ap RocheShane M O'Mara

Abstract

Repeated rehearsal is one method by which verbal material may be transferred from short- to long-term memory. We hypothesised that extended engagement of memory structures through prolonged rehearsal would result in enhanced efficacy of recall and also of brain structures implicated in new learning. Twenty-four normal participants aged 55-70 (mean = 60.1) engaged in six weeks of rote learning, during which they learned 500 words per week every week (prose, poetry etc.). An extensive battery of memory tests was administered on three occasions, each six weeks apart. In addition, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) was used to measure metabolite levels in seven voxels of interest (VOIs) (including hippocampus) before and after learning. Results indicate a facilitation of new learning that was evident six weeks after rote learning ceased. This facilitation occurred for verbal/episodic material only, and was mirrored by a metabolic change in left posterior hippocampus, specifically an increase in NAA/(Cr+Cho) ratio. Results suggest that repeated activation of memory structures facilitates anamnesis and may promote neuronal plasticity in the ageing brain, and that compliance is a key factor in such facilitation as the eff...Continue Reading

References

Mar 6, 1989·Brain Research·R L BerryT Z Han
Dec 1, 1983·Journal of Health and Social Behavior·S CohenR Mermelstein
Feb 1, 1982·The British Journal of Clinical Psychology·D E BroadbentK R Parkes
Feb 21, 1996·JAMA : the Journal of the American Medical Association·D A SnowdonW R Markesbery
Jun 1, 1996·Neuropsychologia·J S JanowskyJ A Kaye
Mar 12, 1997·JAMA : the Journal of the American Medical Association·D A SnowdonW R Markesbery
Nov 11, 1998·Nature Medicine·P S ErikssonF H Gage
Feb 13, 1999·Journal of Neurology·F Pasquier
Apr 15, 1999·Biological Psychiatry·J D Bremner
Mar 4, 2000·The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences·H Fukuzako
Mar 25, 2000·The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition·D A SnowdonW R Markesbery
Jun 16, 2000·Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition·A S Benjamin, R A Bjork
Jul 27, 2000·Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences·L de Toledo-MorrellD A Bennett
Nov 24, 2001·Behavioural Brain Research·H Eichenbaum
Dec 26, 2001·Korean Journal of Radiology : Official Journal of the Korean Radiological Society·K H ChangY H Park
Aug 27, 2002·Neuron·Neil BurgessJohn O'Keefe
Oct 31, 2002·Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS·Kejal KantarciClifford R Jack
Jul 24, 2003·Neuroreport·Michael J ValenzuelaPerminder Sachdev
Feb 1, 1957·Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry·W B SCOVILLE, B MILNER
Feb 1, 1965·Experimental Neurology·H G KUYPERSH E ROSVOLD
Jan 13, 2004·Physiological Reviews·M A Lynch
Jan 30, 2004·The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience·Karen M Rodrigue, Naftali Raz
Aug 5, 2004·Age and Ageing·Leigh Martin RibyCheryl Glover
Nov 1, 1949·Quarterly Journal of Experimental Physiology and Cognate Medical Sciences·C O HEBB, H KONZETT
Dec 14, 2004·Progress in Neuro-psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry·Blaise D FrederickPerry F Renshaw
Jun 10, 2006·NMR in Biomedicine·June S Taylor

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Aug 12, 2015·NeuroImage·Julie HamaideAnnemie Van der Linden
Oct 19, 2010·International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the International Society for Developmental Neuroscience·April M ChowEd X Wu
Oct 5, 2010·Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research : JSLHR·Jerker RönnbergLars-Göran Nilsson

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Software Mentioned

Probe
SVQ

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Anxiety Disorders

Discover the latest research on anxiety disorders including agoraphobia, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder here.

Cell Aging

This feed focuses on cellular aging with emphasis on mitochondria, autophagy, and metabolic processes associated with aging and longevity. Here is the latest research on cell aging.

Cell Aging (Keystone)

This feed focuses on cellular aging with emphasis on the mitochondria, autophagy, and metabolic processes associated with aging and longevity. Here is the latest research on cell aging.

Aging-Associated Metabolic Disorders

Age is associated with many metabolic disorders including cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, stroke and heart disease. The mediators in aging process have been suggested to play a part in the cellular processes responsible for these metabolic disorders. Here is the latest research on aging-associated metabolic disorders.

Brain Aging

Here is the latest research on intrinsic and extrinsic factors, as well as pathways and mechanisms that underlie aging in the central nervous system.