Intense workout can improve memory

The latest study showed that six weeks of 20-minute bouts of interval training led to significant improvements in high-interference memory. Researchers discovered that these workouts led to increases in a protein involved in the growth, function and survival of brain cells.

Intense workout could reduce the rates of Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia, improvements in this type of memory from exercise might help to explain the previously established link between aerobic exercise and better academic performance. Intense workout prevents memory impairment brought on by conditions such as dementia.
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Human memory improved with electrical stimulation

Neuroscientists have discovered precisely where and how to electrically stimulate the human brain to enhance people's recollection of distinct memories. People with epilepsy who received low-current electrical pulses showed a significant improvement in their ability to recognize specific faces and ignore similar ones.

Eight of nine patients' ability to recognize the faces of specific people improved after receiving electrical pulses to the right side of the brain's entorhinal area, which is critical to learning and memory. However, electrical stimulation delivered to the left side of the region, tested on four other people, resulted in no improvement in the patient's recall.

Human memory can be strengthened by electrically stimulating the brain's entorhinal cortex. The researchers followed people with epilepsy who had ultrafine wires implanted in their brains to pinpoint the origin of their seizures. The team monitored the wires to record neuron activity as memories were formed, then sent a specific pattern of quick pulses back into the entorhinal area.

Using the ultrafine wires allowed researchers to precisely target the stimulation but use a voltage as low as one-tenth to one-fifth. The study suggests that low currents of electricity can affect the brain circuits that control memory and human learning. It also illustrates the importance of precisely targeting the stimulation to the right entorhinal region. Other studies that applied stimulation over a wide swath of brain tissue have produce conflicting results. Electrical stimulation could offer promise for treating memory disorders like Alzheimer's disease.
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Menopause linked to changes in brain energy use

Researchers have found that women's brains use less energy during the menopause. The reduction in energy use by the brain was found to be similar to what is seen in people with Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's is characterised by changes in the brain beyond those associated with normal ageing and current research shows that women are more likely to develop Alzheimer's than men.
Menopause can have widespread effects on women, including changes in behaviour, mood and sleep patterns.

Researchers studied changes in energy use in the brains of women before and during menopause. They examined healthy women between the ages of 40 to 60 and used an imaging technique known as PET scanning to assess levels of glucose, one of the major energy sources for the brain.

The team saw reductions in the use of energy in women during menopause. Menopausal women also scored lower on memory tests compared to those who had not gone through menopause, even after accounting for their slightly older age.

The researchers made the observation that those areas of the brain where energy use had dropped in menopause were similar to those seen in people with Alzheimer's disease. Menopause has impacts on a woman's life, it can lead to changes in the brain.

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Brain operates like global positioning system

Brain performs a complex calculation that works like the Global Positioning System, the brain is organized to help us move to different direction in life. The parietal cortex is the part of the brain that takes decisions and implements it. It integrates information coming in from various senses and helps us to understand what action to take.

Single cells in parietal cortex take in streams of sensory information to help us get oriented, but those individual cells also cluster together in larger modules that work together. Those modules in the parietal cortex generate a physical response and, at the same time, are able to reconfigure themselves as we learn and make memories.

These different modules are communicating to each other and seem to be changing their connections just like single cells change their connections. Large groups of cells are connected in different ways as we learn and remember how to take series of actions every day.

Brain always links previous actions with certain places, that is why it is easy to locate a place you have visited before, breaking down of this process leads to Alzheimer's disease and neurological disorders.
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Dangers of taking excess caffeine

Caffeine is a natural stimulant found in tea, coffee and cacao plants, it stimulates the brain and central nervous system. Regular intake of caffeine lowers the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Taking excess caffeine increases the amount of acid in the stomach and may cause heartburn or upset the stomach. Excess caffeine consumption may raise blood pressure.

An overdose of caffeine may cause rapid or irregular heartbeat and breathing trouble. In rare cases, caffeine overdose can result in death due to convulsions or irregular heartbeat.

Drinking caffeine in large amounts may interfere with absorption and metabolism of calcium, this can cause osteoporosis. Too much caffeine can also cause slowed fetal growth and increased risk of miscarriage.
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Women have more active brains than men

Researchers used single photon emission computed tomography SPECT to spot the differences between the brains of men and women. Using functional neuroimaging tools like SPECT, are essential for brain treatments.

The brains of women in the study were significantly more active in many more areas of the brain than men, especially in the prefrontal cortex, involved with focus and impulse control, and the limbic or emotional areas of the brain, involved with mood and anxiety.

The visual and coordination centers of the brain were more active in men. SPECT can measure blood perfusion in the brain. Images acquired from subjects at rest or while performing various cognitive tasks will show different blood flow in specific brain regions.

Researchers examined healthy participants and patients with different psychiatric conditions such as brain trauma, bipolar disorders, mood disorders, psychotic disorders, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD.

A total of 128 brain regions were analyzed while performing a concentration task. Understanding these differences is important because brain disorders affect men and women in different ways.

Women have significantly higher rate of depression, which is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and anxiety disorders, while men have higher rates of  attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD and incarceration.

Their is an increased prefrontal cortex blood flow in women compared to men, this may be the reason why women tend to exhibit greater strengths in the areas of empathy, intuition, collaboration and self-control.

Researchers also found increased blood flow in limbic areas of the brains of women, which may be the reason why women are more vulnerable to anxiety, depression, insomnia, and eating disorders.
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Regular physical exercise prevents dementia

Regular physical exercise prevents cognitive impairment, boosts brain metabolism and dementia in old age. Physical exercise enhances general body fitness and also has a positive impact on brain metabolism and memory.

Researchers examined older people that engaged in regular physical activities with magnetic resonance tomography MRT and magnetic resonance spectroscopy MRS.

They discovered that physical activity had improved their brain metabolism by preventing an increase in choline, it enhanced stable cerebral choline concentrations.

Regular physical exercise prevents an increase in choline- a macronutrient that is important for liver function, normal brain development, nerve function, muscle movement, supporting energy levels and maintaining a healthy metabolism.

High concentration of this metabolite often rises as a result of the increased loss of nerve cells, which typically occurs in the case of Alzheimer’s disease.
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Dementia risk factors

Dementia is caused when the brain is damaged by diseases like Alzheimer’s disease or a series of strokes. Healthy lifestyle can reduce the risk of developing dementia.

Older people suffering from Alzheimer's disease are prone to dementia disease because of irregular blood supply to the brain.

Drinking of alcohol regularly increases the risk of dementia. Alcohol can damage the brain directly as a neurotoxin and by reducing nutrients that get to the brain.

The accumulation of fats and cholesterol in the lining of arteries can prevents blood flow to the brain.

Poor management of diabetes can leads to too much sugar in the blood which can damage brain and different organs in the body.

Genetics- Having more than one family member that have the disease increases the risk of developing it.

High blood pressure affects the white matter regions of the brain, and this can leads to dementia.

Depression has been associated with mild mental impairment and cognitive function decline.

Smoking exposes brain to toxins and hinders blood flow, smokers are prone to diseases that reduce blood flow to the brain.
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Carpolobia lutea plant may be effective for treating Alzheimer’s disease

Carpolobia lutea is a small shrub found in Central and West Africa. Scientific studies have shown that Carpolobia lutea plant has antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties.

The plant was effective in preventing the breakdown of acetylcholine when tested. At higher concentrations, its extract prevents acetylcholine breakdown than Ezerine drug, lowers free radicals and harmful molecules that damage brain cells.

Alzheimer’s patients experienced reduction in neurotransmitter acetylcholine leading to problems with memory and attention.

Carpolobia lutea plant could protect chemical messengers in the brain, reduces levels of free radicals and harmful molecules that destroy brain cells. It's extract could be used to produce new drugs for treating Alzheimer’s disease because of its anti-inflammatory properties.
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