Need More Memory (No, We’re Not Talking RAM)

Searching frantically for misplaced car keys. Fumbling for the name of a new acquaintance. Providing an accurate eye-witness testimony. Treasuring past moments with a loved one lost.

What, exactly, is this thing we call “memory”? How do our brains manage to process, store and recall so much sensory footage – even lifeless data, like phone numbers – almost reflexively?

And perhaps the more urgent question is this: Could the torrent of modern technology, with its so many “memory crutches” – GPS navigators, calculators, search engines, smart phones – be eroding our brain’s natural capacity to remember?

In the clip below, neuropsychologist Dr. Mark Mapstone weighs in.

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Dr. Mapstone co-directs URMC’s memory care clinic, which features a team of neurologists, psychiatrists, a geriatrician, a neuropsychologist, a psychometrician (expert in measuring psychological function), a social worker and a nurse practitioner.

The team serves patients at URMC’s Neurology Clinics at Clinton Crossings and Strong Memorial Hospital, as well as the Psychiatry Department at Monroe Community Hospital. Together, its providers help patients and their families deal with the many dimensions of memory disorders, beginning with an early and accurate diagnosis. The team meets regularly, provides diagnostic and longitudinal follow-up and supportive care, and offers patients access to clinical trials, as appropriate.

To learn more, click here

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*  The above story is adapted from materials provided by University of Rochester Medical Center

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