![]() ![]() This is not to say that we cannot someday create drugs that will significantly improve our memory. Memory supplements are usually no more effective than drinking a sugared soft drink, which also releases glucose and thus improves memory slightly. Yet, controlled studies comparing memory enhancers, such as Ritalin, methylphenidate, ginkgo biloba, and amphetamines, with placebo drugs find very little evidence for their effectiveness (Gold, Cahill, & Wenk, 2002 McDaniel, Maier, & Einstein, 2002). Our knowledge of the role of biology in memory suggests that it might be possible to use drugs to improve our memories, and North Americans spend several hundred million dollars per year on memory supplements with the hope of doing just that. Interestingly, women who are experiencing menopause, along with a reduction in estrogen, frequently report memory difficulties (Chester, 2001). Estrogen, a sex hormone, also seems critical for memory for both sexes (e.g., Cheung, Chervonsky, Felmingham, & Bryant, 2013 Korol & Pisani, 2015). The neurotransmitter serotonin is also secreted when animals learn, and epinephrine may also increase memory, particularly for stressful events (Maki & Resnick, 2000 Sherwin, 1998). When animals, including people, are under stress, more glutamate is secreted, and this glutamate can help them remember (McGaugh, 2003). Glutamate, a neurotransmitter and a form of the amino acid glutamic acid, is perhaps the most important neurotransmitter in memory (McEntee & Crook, 1993). There is quite a bit of evidence that this is true. Long-term potentiation occurs as a result of changes in the synapses, which suggests that chemicals, particularly neurotransmitters and hormones, must be involved in memory. The period of time in which LTP occurs and in which memories are stored is known as the period of consolidation. ![]() This process, known as long-term potentiation (LTP), refers to the strengthening of the synaptic connections between neurons as a result of frequent stimulation (Lynch, 2002). Drugs that block LTP reduce learning, whereas drugs that enhance LTP increase learning (Lynch et al., 1991). Because the new patterns of activation in the synapses take time to develop, LTP happens gradually. When pathways in these neural networks are frequently and repeatedly fired, the synapses become more efficient in communicating with each other, and these changes create memory. The ability to maintain information in LTM involves a gradual strengthening of the connections among the neurons in the brain. ![]() ![]() Just as information is stored on digital media, the information in long-term memory (LTM) must be stored in the brain.
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