My Dad was dating the woman he would marry when the Lancet published research in 1985 about how "the decline of all higher cognitive functions in senile dementia of the Alzheimer type is attributable to histopathological changes in the hippocampal formation."
Twenty-three years later, the year his wife got him settled into Silverado Senior Living, research still focused on the hippocampus, deep in the brain. It seems a larger hippocampus may protect people from the effects of Alzheimer's disease-related brain changes, "an exciting area of research," according to Professor Clive Ballard, director of research for the Alzheimer's Society in London.
It's not that any of this knowledge or experimentation could help my Dad now, or even back in 1985, that I find myself wondering about this structure, this region, this whatever-it-is piece of the brain. It's the purple area in this drawing provided by Dr. Jim Phelps, an Oregon psychiatrist. This is a slice image, looking deep in the temporal lobe, which is above and infront of the ear on either side of the head.
He explains that the hippocampus--part of the innermost fold of the temporal lobe--is instrumental in helping us store memories. And, he gives three reasons why we should care about it:
1. This part of the brain appears to be absolutely necessary for making new memories. Alzheimer's disease affects the hippocampus first and severely, which is why memory (or the ability to make new ones) is usually the first thing to start to falter in Alzheimer's.
2. The hippocampus appears to shrink in severe mental illnesses, including severe depression and schizophrenia.
3. Estrogen has a direct effect on the hippocampus. Research on the role of estrogen in preventing Alzheimer's is underway.
So this is what we know now. We can only imagine what we'll know another 23 years from now.
Twenty-three years later, the year his wife got him settled into Silverado Senior Living, research still focused on the hippocampus, deep in the brain. It seems a larger hippocampus may protect people from the effects of Alzheimer's disease-related brain changes, "an exciting area of research," according to Professor Clive Ballard, director of research for the Alzheimer's Society in London.
It's not that any of this knowledge or experimentation could help my Dad now, or even back in 1985, that I find myself wondering about this structure, this region, this whatever-it-is piece of the brain. It's the purple area in this drawing provided by Dr. Jim Phelps, an Oregon psychiatrist. This is a slice image, looking deep in the temporal lobe, which is above and infront of the ear on either side of the head.
He explains that the hippocampus--part of the innermost fold of the temporal lobe--is instrumental in helping us store memories. And, he gives three reasons why we should care about it:
1. This part of the brain appears to be absolutely necessary for making new memories. Alzheimer's disease affects the hippocampus first and severely, which is why memory (or the ability to make new ones) is usually the first thing to start to falter in Alzheimer's.
2. The hippocampus appears to shrink in severe mental illnesses, including severe depression and schizophrenia.
3. Estrogen has a direct effect on the hippocampus. Research on the role of estrogen in preventing Alzheimer's is underway.
So this is what we know now. We can only imagine what we'll know another 23 years from now.
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