Teach the Brain Forums

March 4, 2006

Good Morning
Memory is very important; cannot be overstated. As we have previously discussed memory plays a very vital role in our overall learning and well being. The basal ganglia and it's vital areas for movement seems to have a effect on memory, movement, and other vital functions of a quality life. I have just purchased a book on line and expect it with a short time from now. The title: "In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind"
Eric R. Kandel. With memory superstar Dr. Larry Squire on the west coast and Dr. Eric Kandel memory superstar on the east coast...how can we not take advantage of their superb knowledge.

I am not putting forth the posit that the basal ganglia is the most important part of memory since it is known as the "movement" system of the brain...which means body too. We must remember that the brain affects the body and there is a reciprocal heath curriculum that we can teach to help the healthy body[system, including the brain]. Nutrition, exercise, disposition, motivation etc....stress reduction[or how to handle stress]. There is a huge role for practitioners to play....let us learn more in the biology and we will even convince ourselves that practicing good health habits might be one of the first lines of defense in some of our severe diseases.
Be well,
Rob

March ll, 2006

Good Morning

We have absolute proof that learners form better contructs [n] when relevant.

In Eric R. Kandel's new book titled: In search of memory, winner of the nobel prize speaks candidly of memories that he will never forget EVER...when a boy in Germany during the NAZI domination of his home land. Some things that Professor Kandel experienced will never ever be forgotten since they were up close and person...such as the holocaust.

We read things with more motivation and intensity when we are personally involved and relevant.

The first chapter in Eric Kandel's new book is called Personal Memory and the Biology of Memory Storage.

Very good read.
Best,
Rob

March 12, 2006

Good Morning,

Oliver Sacks calls Eric R. Kandel's new book "A Stunning book." Oliver Sacks states in the inside cover of Kandel's new book....MEMORY BINDS OUR MENTAL LIFE TOGETHER......I believe this to be so very true....I am going to give you more information on this excellent book....

Book: In Search of Memory by Nobel Prize Winner Eric R. Kandel: The Emerence of a New Science of the Mind. @ 2006 by Eric R. Kandel, ISBN 0-393-05863-8 (Hardcover) USA $29.95

Very interesting book that really makes you think....
Best,
Rob

March 17, 2006

Good Afternoon,

Memory is getting more attention these days. Why is that? Is it because memory and learning bind our mental lives together....maybe so.....what about advancing age...is this pushing for more information regarding memory. I don't think so. I believe that memory is so important to our quality of life at any age, that we must persue our research with great alacrity.
Be well,
Rob

March 20, 2006

Good Evening

It is really kind of exciting when you are reading a book by a nobel prize winner as the author [Kandel]
and published in 2006 and you come across some vital information that you have been searching...in places other than this book. Very good book by Eric Kandel, In search of memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind.

Quote: From her systematic studies of H.M., Milner extracted three important principles of the biological basis of complex memory. First, memory is a distinct mental function, clearly separate from other perceptual, motor, and cogitive abilities. Second, short-term memory and long term memory can be stored separately. Loss of medial temporal lobe structures, particularly loss of the hippocampus destroys the ability to convert new short-term memory to long-term memory. Third, Milner showed that at least one type of memory can be traced to specific places in the brain. Loss of brain substance in the medial temporal lobe and the hippocampus profoundly disrupts the ability to lay down new long-term memories, whereas losses in certain other regions of the brain do not affect memory.

I will look for a good graphic or picture of the brain that shows the medial temporal lobe and the hippocampus.....think about this.....A book written by a nobel prize winner, published this year 2006. I think that I will tape this to the refrigerator as salient information on memory. It has to be correct.

If you are interested in the story of H.M., I think that I posted it in this thread sometime ago. H.M. at the age of nine was knocked down by someone riding a bicycle. He sustained a head injury that led eventually to epilepsy. As the story goes H.M. had tremendous seizures and finally had surgery...before,during and after his surgery the answers in the second paragraph of this writing became manifest.

Quote: Milner thus disproved Lashley's theory of mass action. It is only in the hippocampus that the various strands of sensory information necessary for forming long-term memory come together. Moreover, Milner's finding that H.M. had good long-term memory for events that happened prior to the surgery showed clearly that the medial temporal lobe and the hippocampus are not the permanent storage sites of memory that has been in long-term storage for some time.

Quote: We now have reason to believe that long-term memory is stored in the cerebral cortex. Moreover, it is stored in the same area of the cerebral cortex that originally processed the information - that is, memories of visual images are stored in various areas of the visual cortex, and memories of tactile experiences are stored in the somatosensory cortex. [Ref: Brenda Milner (1918) found in Eric Kandel's book listed herein].
Url found today on the internet....URL: http://daphne.palomar.edu/ccarpenter/Mod...ateral.htm

Be well,
Rob

March 28, 2006

Good Morning,

Is it true that most of memory and learning is "unconscious"? That might be interesting since most of testing is conscious....do we have a situation here?
Best,
Rob

March 28, 2006

Good Morning,

Memory as stated by many professional neuroscientists is the glue that keeps our lives together. Memories are the purpose for reflection and wonderful feelings. Memories especially, good memories, fills our lives with happiness and warmth.

On June 23, 24, 25 2006 The Fifty-Fifth REUNION of the San Clara Swim Club will be held with a tribute to its founder GEORGE F. HAINES. He built champion swimmers and most of all he built quality character in the lives of many many human beings.
I have put some information on our Memory thread because .....George Haines is not only a memory but a living legend.
Best,
Rob
URL:
http://www.msnusers.com/CoachGeorgeHaine...ines%2Edoc

March 29, 2006

Good Morning,

Memory and learning cannot function normally when the myelin coverning the axons are cracking and degenerating.....Retrieved today from the internet is an excellent article regarding the autoimmune system and microglia cells.......Good read...
Best,
Rob URL: http://www.biopsychology.com/index.php?d...&x=12&y=18

April 4, 2006

Good Afternoon,
Movement disorders are being found in young adults and teens that manifest the inchoate states of Parkinsons. Sometimes it takes 10, 20 or 30 years to diagnosis early onset to this degenerative disease. I retrieved an interesting url on the internet today regarding movement disorders....please note that at the bottom of each page there is a icon or arrow or something to indicate that you may proceed to the next page. Very Interesting Read........
Best,
Rob URL:http://www.wemove.org/par/par.html

April 5, 2006

Good Morning,

Memory is important and just as we think of memory, we must think of learning also.....since memory has a great deal to do with learning. I retrieved an interesting Url today from the internet that is a good read.
Be Well,
Rob URL: http://www.thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/i/i_..._p_oub.htm

April 10, 2006
Good Morning
Just a reminder that everything, or just about everything points to memory. It really is important and you can find additional good information on the internet at the url: http://www.thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/i/i_...cl_tra.htm
Best,
Rob

April 10, 2006
Good Morning,

I was not sure of the correct thread to use to recommend a terrific books with the greatest photos and diagrams of the human brain and nervous systems. I would use this particular book from middle school.....all the way to graduate school because of the student's prior knowledge and the best photos ever......Text:The Great Brain Book: An Inside Look AT The Inside of your Head by HP Newquist. ISBN 0-439-45895-1; Scholastic Reference, Copyright 2004. Hardback price, $18.95

I use this book as a reference and to bridge gaps in prior knowledge.....great photos....
Best,
Rob

April 16, 2006
Good Afternoon,

Memory is very special and this pod cast or video is excellent with Professor Eric Kandel being interviewed and as a result the subject of memory [which Dr.Kandel is an expert] is the salient topic. The url found on the internet April 15, 2006 is a little over an hour long....computer sound....and part of the Dana Foundation. This is exceptionally good...especially when you really get a good insight of this wonderful nobel prize winner from Columbia University. URL: http://www.dana.org/broadcasts/podcasts/
Rob

April 18, 2006

Good Afternoon,
Good review of the brain...Meylin, CNS, PNS, etc. etc

This is one of the best reviews of the brain that I have come across. You can find this material at the Url on the internet with the hyperlink of: http://www.siumed.edu/%7Edking2/ssb/neuron.htm#myelin
Rob

G'day Rob, I am currently sutdying my Masters of Adult Education at the University of Technology In Sydney Australia. I have been conducting some research on the Information processing theories (stage theory) and cognitive psychology when I found this website and your thread. It has taken me a couple of weeks to read through from the start and have become very intrigued. I was especially interested with Henry and what this poor bloke has provided to research and how he has changed our understanding on how memory works within the brain.

But what I would like to ask is after all the research you have carreid out, has your personal theory of memory and how information is process, in relation to short term and long term momory, in the brain changed from when you first started this thread?

Regards
Andrew

Pup018 Wrote:G'day Rob, I am currently sutdying my Masters of Adult Education at the University of Technology In Sydney Australia. I have been conducting some research on the Information processing theories (stage theory) and cognitive psychology when I found this website and your thread. It has taken me a couple of weeks to read through from the start and have become very intrigued. I was especially interested with Henry and what this poor bloke has provided to research and how he has changed our understanding on how memory works within the brain.

But what I would like to ask is after all the research you have carreid out, has your personal theory of memory and how information is process, in relation to short term and long term momory, in the brain changed from when you first started this thread?

Regards
Andrew

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MAY 2, 2006

Dear Andrew,
This will be my third attempt to answer your question. The system here at the hotel keeps turning on and off. But as far as Henry (HM) is concerned his memory of todays lessons will not remembered tomorrow. This is called his declaratory or explicit memory. All is not lost however since his non declarative memory or implicit memory is viable.... and a large percentage of what we do is non declarative or implicit. Examples of this would be ridding a bike, swimming, playing golf, etc. Sometimes this is referred to as procedural memory also.

You asked about changes in me as per the first time I started this thread....on memory. I believe that I have changed considerably in self confidence, knowledge, and especially knowing whom to read and contact when asking for the more current data. I don't believe that there are too many changes that I could make since I was learning and developing my own prior knowledge as we went along....Remember that your prior knowledge is after all, going to always be with you as you gain your new knowledge...the new knowledge once learned well enough is then your new prior knowledge.

I can say that since prior knowledge is a physical change in the neuronal network of the brain that so far......I believe I have it right on.....THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTIONS!
Be well,
Rob

Thanks for that Rob, I have just been trying to open that podcast you posted earlier but I not having much success ( I think that it is an IT problem at my end. I don't think I have the correct software).

Cheers
Andrew

Pup018 Wrote:Thanks for that Rob, I have just been trying to open that podcast you posted earlier but I not having much success ( I think that it is an IT problem at my end. I don't think I have the correct software).

Cheers
Andrew

MAY 4, 2006
Good morning,

DEAR ANDREW,

I am going to enter the hyperlink for the following URL: http://www.lcmedia.com/mindprgm.htm It is one of the best and should be a must to connect. Take a great deal of time with this particular url since you can hear the audio over your computer and is recogonized as scientific and educationally viable. If you cannot open the url...please check around with experts in your area..... It is really an important one to have.
Best,
Rob

Thanks Rob,
I will have a go at that over the weekend.

I have another question for you though. I was driving home this afternoon and I heard a Billy Joel song that I have not heard in ages. I was driving by myself so I turned the volume up and had a bit of a sing along. Afterwards I thought about it and was amazed that I could just about recite the whole song while it was playing, however after it had finished I could not do it half as well. It made me think about Howard Gardner's theory on Multiple Intelligences. Could it be feasible to say that his theory musical intelligence as well as his mathematical-logical intelligence and possibly linguistic intelligence could be classed as a procedural memory in the nondeclarative memory as they are mentally stored as a set sequence.

Thanks in advance
Andrew

Pup018 Wrote:Thanks Rob,
I will have a go at that over the weekend.

I have another question for you though. I was driving home this afternoon and I heard a Billy Joel song that I have not heard in ages. I was driving by myself so I turned the volume up and had a bit of a sing along. Afterwards I thought about it and was amazed that I could just about recite the whole song while it was playing, however after it had finished I could not do it half as well. It made me think about Howard Gardner's theory on Multiple Intelligences. Could it be feasible to say that his theory musical intelligence as well as his mathematical-logical intelligence and possibly linguistic intelligence could be classed as a procedural memory in the nondeclarative memory as they are mentally stored as a set sequence.

Thanks in advance
Andrew

May 9, 2006

Good Morning
Andrew...

Interesting question for which I do not have an answer. Procedural memory sometimes sort of creeps up on us....I have taken both declarative and non declarative [procedural memory] apart and put them back together again. You also had a prompt while the music was playing....could be......but this kind of thinking is great...it make it all worth while.
Best,
Rob

May 9, 2006
Good morning,

Retrieve from the internet a very interesting audio tape on memory via Eric Kandel. The following hyperlink will take you to this interesting url.....http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/episodes/2006/04/10
Best,
Rob

Hi Andrew, from the other side of Australia ,
I would suggest that the key factor that enabled you to recall the song, was the particular Rhythm?
Where Rhythm was the neural link to the sequence of words.
Though what I'm currently looking at, is Working Memory?
Or more specifically, the particular 'Skills' that W/M utilises?
Where each of our senses, utilises its own set of skills to participate in the theatre of our own Working Memory?
But the crucial factor, is that we are not born with the skills that produce our W/M ? Rather, they are acquired skills.
I would take Rhythm as an example, where research has identified an association between Dyslexia and lack of a sense of Rhythm for some people.
Where a study of Dyslexic teenagers, participated in classes to develop their 'sense of rhythm'. Where a notable improvement in their literacy resulted.

But, the real issue that concerns me, is how this 'sense of Rhythm' of utilised?
My point being, that it is not something 'physical' that has been developed?
But rather an ability/ skill? In the same way that 'walking' is an acquired skill.
Though just as 'walking' utilises procedural memory, I am coming to the conclusion that working memory is a convergence of a spectrum of its own acquired procedural memory skills/ abilities?
The crucial factor, is that Procedural Memories are acquired.
Where my concern is that what may be defined as a 'functional disorder'?
May in fact reflect a yet to be developed specific working memory, procedural memory skill?
Where exposure and practise may enable the development of the relevant working memory abilities/ skills?
Geoff.

April 9, 2006

Good Evening

I believe you will enjoy Eric Kandel being interviewed on tape....his new book is called "In Search of Memory".....retrieved yesterday.....from the internet...
URL: http://www.nyas.org/snc/readersReport.asp?articleID=45

Enjoy,
Rob

geodob Wrote:But, the real issue that concerns me, is how this 'sense of Rhythm' of utilised?
My point being, that it is not something 'physical' that has been developed?
But rather an ability/ skill? In the same way that 'walking' is an acquired skill.
Though just as 'walking' utilises procedural memory, I am coming to the conclusion that working memory is a convergence of a spectrum of its own acquired procedural memory skills/ abilities?
The crucial factor, is that Procedural Memories are acquired.
Where my concern is that what may be defined as a 'functional disorder'?
May in fact reflect a yet to be developed specific working memory, procedural memory skill?
Where exposure and practise may enable the development of the relevant working memory abilities/ skills?
Geoff.

G'day Geoff, I had been thinking about what you had said. Is it possible that different part of the song could be stored in different parts of memory (if that makes sense)? Could the music be stored seperately from the words and that something stimulates the working memory whch joins the 2 together.

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for your post. This is an interesting hypothesis. It is certainly possible, in fact, it is likely, that different parts of the song are stored in different parts of the brain, with music stored separately from words.

What are your thoughts Geoff?

Cheers,
Christina