Brain Health Expert: Patricia Faust
And suddenly, we are in the season of Christmas!
How can such a big memory-induced holiday sneak up on me every year? But once the reality of early darkness, whipping winds dropping temperatures like a missed fly ball, and every commercial on TV has shifted from non-stop political to non-stop Christmas shopping, you know the holiday season is upon us.
The Treasure Trove Of Memories At Christmas!
I am giving a presentation this month on “How You Make Memories and Why You Forget” at an assisted living facility in Cincinnati. There is no better time to give this talk because the holidays are full of memories.
The traditions, scents, food, music, and Christmas displays play an oversized role in creating lasting memories. Each one of the ‘cues’ are encoded with the memories and are instrumental in recalling these memories over a lifetime.
“There is no better time to give this talk because the holidays are full of memories.”
For this presentation, I decided to incorporate the holiday memories of the residents as part of the explanations of how memory works. Memory-making is very elusive as you get older. There are three steps to making a memory – acquisition, storage, and retrieval. It requires focus and attention to create that first spark of Immediate Memory.
This is the instant that the electrical signal enters the prefrontal cortex. It lasts milliseconds. If you have untreated hearing loss, it is unlikely that you will pick up a sharp, clear signal transmitted and that signal won’t ever make it to the other two steps of creating a memory. When you are older, you lose your distraction filters and lose focus on what it is you want to remember.
Of course, you don’t realize that you haven’t captured a strong enough signal to start the memory process. Then you get upset with your inability to remember.
Short-Term Memory:
Immediate Memory transfer the signal to Working or Short-term Memory. This step is also subject to distraction and only holds that memory for a few minutes. An example of how fleeting short-term memory is – you don’t have a phone number you need in your phone and you must look it up. From the time you look it up to the time you record it in your phone you are working with short-term memory. The question is — how many times did you need to go back and look at the number again?
If your brain has held on to that strong signal this long, the hippocampus comes for that information. This is the storage phase of the memory process. The hippocampus forms new synapses throughout the brain. A synapse is the chemical gap between the axons and dendrites of brain cells. No neuron touches another neuron. The communication throughout the brain is dependent on the chemical gap of the synapse to keep the connection going. When you are storing a memory in long-term, the synapse is the location where the memory is stored! It is quite incredible.
The process ends on the ability to retrieve that memory. When we recall a memory, the same neurons involved in the original experience of encoding, are now activated to duplicate the moment. If there hasn’t been any effort to recall a memory, the signal strength starts to decay, and it becomes more difficult to remember. There is one method of storing a memory that increases the likelihood of recall. Encode the memory with a cue! There are two types of memory cues:
Internal memory cues: these are patterns of thinking that help trigger a specific memory.
External memory cues: these are objects or events that trigger a memory they are associated with.
“Christmas is such a perfect time to demonstrate that method.”
A Perfect Time To Demonstrate:
There are many reasons why we forget as we get older. But there is a very powerful memory aid that can help us remember. I am going to establish the use of cues to bring up memories. Christmas is such a perfect time to demonstrate that method.
Emotion is the strongest of internal cues to recall memories. I always use the events of 911. There was a small TV above my desk, and I would half listen to the news as I got paperwork together. When I heard Diane Sawyer start sounding alarmed, I looked up and saw the second plane fly right into the Twin Tower. Even now I feel like I am watching it in slow motion. There was so much emotion encoded with the event that I will always remember it in detail. Any memory that was encoded with emotion will stay with you forever. You will not forget it.
For the presentation I am supplying some cues to trigger Christmas memories. We have Christmas music from the 1950s and 1960s. Bing Crosby, Andy Williams, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra are a few of the artists who had Christmas Albums at that time. It is interesting to hear the stories that people begin to relate when this music triggers their memories.
The Joyful Holidays:
I have photos from that time – department stores with Santa Claus; department store windows where the Christmas displays were exceptional. Also, Christmas cards with snow scenes stir a lot of memories and stories. The iconic aluminum Christmas tree was popular in that time – I am curious if anyone will talk about that.
Of course, the scents of the holidays initiate many memories. I wish we could have had some food to sample from that period because food always brings stories with it. The scent and the emotional connection to family gatherings initiates warm memories. I will diffuse some essential oil scents (Balsam Pine and Winter’s Glow – Red Mandarin, Clove Bud, Nutmeg, Roman Chamomile, and Bitter Orange.).
There have been some tough Christmases among the joyful ones. What I learned is that the memories of the joyful holidays always superseded the anxiety or sadness of a tough Christmas. Our memories are our gift to ourselves. Create new, joyful memories throughout your life. They will always be there for you when you need them.
Here is to a very memorable holiday season!
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About the Author:
Patricia Faust is a gerontologist specializing in the issues of brain aging, brain health, brain function and dementia. She has a Masters in Gerontological Studies degree from Miami University in Oxford Ohio. Patricia is certified as a brain health coach and received a certification in Neuroscience and Wellness through Dr. Sarah McKay and the Neuroscience Academy. My Boomer Brain, founded in 2015, is the vehicle that Patricia utilizes to teach, coach and consult about brain aging, brain health and brain function. Her newsletter, My Boomer Brain, has international readers from South Africa, Australia, throughout Europe and Canada. She has also been a frequent guest on Medicare Moment on WMKV and Cincy Lifestyles on WCPO.
