Later they stimulate the tissue with less shock—but communication across the synapse is found to be stronger. Moreover, the effect persists for days, sometimes weeks. This, researchers believe, "looks an awful lot like learning," a case of neuronal plasticity with an increase in synaptic response—in other words, the creation of new channels that increase the efficiency of information processing.
Scientists want to know precisely what changes take place in LTP, whether the molecular changes associated with LTP occur primarily in the receiver cell, the transmitting nerve cell, or in both. A variety of mechanisms affect synaptic strength. Perhaps various combinations of these determine how different forms of learning occur—for example, how facts are acquired versus how skills are retained.
Still, enough of the evidence is in to walk away with growing certainty. Simply making the attempt to keep up appears to stretch and strengthen our minds physically. And it may give us an edge against degenerative disease. We may survive the information age after all. And exit it in better shape than it found us.
Noshing For Neurons
Your brain hungers for nourishment. It needs protein and vitamins, among other nutrients, to make the membranes and chemicals that facilitate learning and memory. Tip the mental scales in your favor. Eat a balanced diet.
In a study of 26 teenagers, sociologist Stephen Schoenthaler of California State University in Turlock examined the relationship between nutrition and brain function. For three months, 15 of the kids received vitamin-mineral supplements. The others were given placebos.
After three months, the 15 on supplements scored significant gains in non-verbal IQ. Four kids from the supplement group and one on placebo increased an extraordinary 20 points each. When blood samples were drawn from these high five at the end of the trial, all had normal nutrient concentrations. By contrast, none had met laboratory norms at the beginning. The researchers also tested the brain activity of the four supplemented kids and found a significant reduction in brain wave abnormalities.
According to Harvard neurosurgeon Vernon Mark, M.D., certain nutrients have long been known to be essential to the chemical processes of a brain at work: protein, carbohydrates, lecithin, and vitamin B1 (also known as thiamine).
Mark identifies other 'key nutrients' for brain function: the electrolytes calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, and chloride; the vitamins B3 (niacin), B6 (pyridoxine), B9 (folate), B12, and C; and the minerals iron, copper, and zinc.
Vital brain nutrients also include choline, a near-vitamin that helps form neuron membranes, the site of a lot of communication action. The essential amino acids tyrosine and tryptophan, which contain not only building blocks of proteins but of neurotransmitters as well, also have an effect on behavior and brain function, reports Mark in his book, Reversing Memory Loss (Houghton Mifflin; 1992).
Here are the goodies your brain craves:
- PROTEIN: salmon, tuna, chicken, turkey
- CARBOHYDRATES: potatoes, low-fat bread
- LECITHIN: tofu, egg yolks
- VITAMIN 81: organ meats, brewer's yeast, kidney beans, salmon
- CALCIUM: dates, almonds, molasses, cheese
- MAGNESIUM: shrimp, molasses, herring, codfish, almonds
- SODIUM: along with chloride, the body gets enough in salt
- POTASSIUM: spinach, raisins, peaches, parsnip, banana, dates, dried figs, most meats
- VITAMIN B3: mushroom, collards, avocado, salmon, tuna, halibut, turkey, chicken, veal
- VITAMIN B6: whole-wheat, rice, tuna, avocado, bananas
- VITAMIN B9: cantaloupe, oranges, peas, rice, wheat germ
- VITAMIN B12: swiss cheese, most meats, fish such as herring, mackerel, snapper
- VITAMIN C: citrus fruits
- IRON: Pumpkin seeds, blackstrap molasses, walnuts, wheat germ, caviar, egg yolk
- COPPER: mushrooms, oats, oysters, peanuts, salmon, honey, barley, blackstrap molasses
- ZINC: dates, dried figs, egg yolk, fish, maple syrup, milk, oysters, wheat germ, sesame seeds
- TYROSINE: peanuts, pickled herring, pumpkin seeds, lima beans
- TRYPTOPHAN: peanuts, bananas, skim milk.
Smell Your Way To Success
Want to improve your memory? Then learn under conditions that stimulate all your senses. Writing, touching, talking, listening, even smelling—the more of them you stimulate in the process of memorizing, the better your ability to recall information. The idea has been around for a while, but a team of behavioral neuroscientists recently identified how such cues improve memory.
Michael S. Fanselow, Ph.D., and Jeansok J. Kim, Ph.D., of UCLA found that the hippocampus, an area of the brain known to integrate sensory information, plays an essential role in the short-term memory of contextual information—say, the clues you draw upon to locate those missing eyeglasses or your car in a crowded parking lot.
First they trained 22 rats to associate being in a flat, square box with a particular tone, delivered with a small electrical shock to their feet. The box also smelled of ammonia. Then Fanselow and Kim surgically damaged the hippocampus of eight of the rats at four different times after training: one day, one week, two weeks, four weeks.
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