Reports that drinking lemonade laced with glucose, a simple sugar,
improves memory in the elderly for at least 24 hours. Finding by
University of Virginia psychologist Paul Gold, PhD.; Possibility that
memory deficits may be treatable; Glucose's influence on the activity of
neurons that release acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter involved in
memory; What the research suggests about Alzheimer's disease and Down's
syndrome; Details.
By
PT Staff, published on July 01, 1993
Cognitive Enhancement
Say good-bye to salmon-glucose may be the brain food of the '90s.
Drinking lemonade laced with glucose, a simple sugar, improves memory in
the elderly for at least 24 hours, reports University of Virginia
psychologist Paul Gold, Ph.D.
The finding not only sheds light on how memory works, it also
suggests that memory deficits may be treatable. "I don't think glucose
will prove a powerful treatment in itself, but it will increase
understanding of the neurobiological systems where glucose has an
effect," says Gold.
He had 22 healthy seniors listen to an audiotaped passage, recall
it verbally, and then drink lemonade sweetened with either glucose or
saccharin, the sugar substitute. Twenty-four hours later the seniors were
asked again to recall details from the passage.
Those who got glucose recalled 53% more info than those who got
saccharin. In a separate experiment, those who drank glucose before they
heard the passage also improved their test scores significantly, Gold
told the American Psychological Society.
The findings suggest that glucose somehow promotes memory storage -
perhaps by slowing down the rate of forgetting-and that its effects may
strengthen with time.
It's long been known that glucose is the main fuel of brain cells.
But new studies show that blood levels of glucose also specifically
influence the activity of neurons that release acetylcholine, a
neurotransmitter involved in memory.
The research also suggests that Alzheimer's disease and Down's
syndrome may involve faulty regulation of the chemical processes that
control memory storage. Affected persons may be prime candidates for
drugs, yet to be developed, that can specifically mimic these reactions
in the brain. Glucose is only a "primitive step" toward memory
enhancement. But a little lemonade can't hurt.
PHOTO: A lightbulb (MAN:TONY STONE LIGHBULB:STOCK MARKET)
PHOTO: KANDY-KOLORED KOOL-AID FOR KOGNITION? (ILLUSTRATION:PAULA
EASTWOOD)
Tags:
american psychological society,
blood levels,
brain,
cognitive enhancement,
elderly,
glucose,
lemonade,
Memory,
memory deficits,
memory storage,
prime candidates,
sugar,
twenty four hours
