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

Abstract

BackgroundRepeated 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.ResultsResults 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.ConclusionResults 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 effect was confined to those who engaged fully with the training.

Metabolic changes in visual cortex of neonatal monocular enucleated rat: a proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study

“…1 H MRS has been widely used to investigate developmental neurobiology in mammalian brains (Larvaron et al, 2006; Tkac et al, 2003; Weiss et al, 2009). Recently, 1 H MRS technique has been employed to study the metabolite profiles for measuring neuroplasticity in response to environmental stimuli or injury (Bernabeu et al, 2009; Pajonk et al, 2010; Roche et al, 2009; Singh et al, 2009). In the present study, 1 H MRS at 7 T has been shown to reveal early biochemical or metabolic changes in visual cortex in neonatal ME model.…”

Human Memory and Recall: Bridging the Gap between Encoding and Recall of Information

“…The subcortical structures that have been associated with the processing of emotional memories are the Prefrontal Cortex, Amygdala, Anterior Cingluate Cortex, Hippocampus, and the Insula [5]. However, within these structures, the hippocampus and amygdala have been the most studied structures that were found to process emotions related to memory encoding, thus processing and storing them in the long term memory system [6,7]. To take emotional memory processing a bit more further, a journal article by William James (1884) entitled "What is an Emotion" brought into perspective one of the most thought provoking questions about emotions and how they can possibly be related to memory encoding.…”

“…To take emotional memory processing a bit more further, a journal article by William James (1884) entitled "What is an Emotion" brought into perspective one of the most thought provoking questions about emotions and how they can possibly be related to memory encoding. James proposed an innovative theory whereby human emotions occurred in response to afferent feedback loops from the sensory receptors in the skin, muscles, cartilage, and other organs which produced physical changes alongside the emotional experience [7].…”

Interlocução entre neurociência e aprendizagem significativa: uma proposta teórica para o ensino de genética

“…A aprendizagem mecânica, apesar de apresentar um tempo de retenção menor, ativa uma rede neural complexa e distribuída em diversas áreas encefálicas, como córtex pré-frontal inferior esquerdo, área motora suplementar, córtex parietal posterior bilateral, cerebelo lateral e lobo temporal medial, incluindo o hipocampo (ROCHE et al, 2009). Levando em consideração estas afirmações, parece provável que muitas informações provenientes da aprendizagem mecânica ficam retidas na memória de curto prazo e na memória de trabalho.…”