Unraveling the mysteries of memory loss and gain by Bill Dietrich short-term memory, long-term Times science reporter memory, or some combination of both, Some may lose memories emory loss and recovery associated with what they saw, from a brain injury such as others with what they have heard. M that suffered by Bill Zoller It is not clear why. is not uncommon, says University Doerr cited cases in which of Washington psychology profes- patients have no memory reten- sor Hans Doerr. But neither is it tion; if a person they know walks well understood. around a corner and then reap- “I’d be up for a Nobel Prize if I pears, they will respond to them as could give a precise answer” to if meeting for the first time. what exactly happens to victims In another case a patient could such as the UW chemist, Doerr recall the music and words of a said. nursery rhyme, but not the words Zoller sustained two blood clots alone. nearly the size of pingpong balls in While nothing cuts to the core the frontal lobe of his brain, the of a person more than a brain area that controls recall of long- injury, new research indicates the and short-term memory. brain is not quite the fragile, The resulting damage explains unchanging, unrepairable machine why many of his memories seem once believed. intact, but that he has had trouble Doerr said scientists have accessing them. learned the same memory appears Zoller’s memory loss and recov- to be stored in more than one ery is dramatic, but not unprec- place, so if lost in one part of the edented. Even though the brain brain they might be recoverable in cannot replace destroyed cells in another. the way a cut muscle repairs itself, the brain does demonstrate an Similarly, the brain has an ability to work around injuries by excess of cells. According to Dr. growing new connective tissue. Richard Restak in his new book, “It’s almost like re-routing tele- “The Brain Has a Mind of Its phone wires,”Doerr explained. Own,” in everyday life your brain Understanding such processes ceils die at the rate of 50,000 to is one of the most exciting areas 100,000 per day, and are not of brain research,” the psycholo- replaced. gist said. Scientists are so excited Despite this, most people feel about impending discoveries that more competent at middle age Congress has designated the 1990s than when young because the the “Decade of the Brain.” ability to draw upon experience and make mental connections While ller compares his more that makes up in practical injury to the loss of a computer'scornputer’s function for the loss ot neurons. hard disk directory, the brain is There is evidence that Zoller’s actually far more complex because conscious efforts to improve his of its ability to make complicated memory, to“exercise his brain,” associations. can indeed have beneficial effects. Robert Ornstein, author of a Researchers recently reported to new book called “The Evolution of the American Psychological Asso- Consciousness,”cites as a simple ciation that children who attend example how if you are hungry, school improve their tested intelli- you may recall a shopping mall as gent quotient over those who do a place to eat; if cold you’ll recall not, suggesting that education not the same mall as a place to get a only pumps kids full of informa- coat. Otherwise “mall” won’t be tion, but that by requiring mental recalled at all. Memory combines exercise it makes students with need, stimulation and instinct. “smarter.” Zoller’s neurosurgeon, Dr. John Restak’s book cites a case in Maxwell, explained this complex- which a population of rats trained ity is what is difficult to recapture. to run a maze produced more of a “The important thing about the specific neurotransmitter, acetyl- brain is how its sub-regions inter- choline, than did a population of correlate,” he said. rats not so trained. The training People suffering head injuries appeared to improve the rats’ sometimes experience loss of physical brain, he writes.