Memory

Of all the theories purporting to uncover the roots of childhood behaviour and its extension into adult behaviour, the most cogent relates to the physical and psychological bonds of attachment between infant and mother. It is helpful to divide the human lifespan into three periods, each of which has alternating phases of attachment and detachment.

Telomeres are the ends of chromosomes and are non-coding DNA "end-capped" with structures containing DNA-quadruplexes and proteins. Telomeres become shorter after each cell division, which is one of the mechanisms of gradual ageing. Telomerase is the reverse transcriptase responsible for the extension of telomere length. It is well known that activation of telomerase in the most types of organism's cells is not enough for telomere length stabilization. The reason may be in the telomere "caps", which cover telomere ends from telomerase action.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the effects of a 14-day healthy longevity lifestyle program on cognition and cerebral metabolism in people with mild age-related memory complaints.

BACKGROUND: Calorie restriction increases longevity in many organisms, and calorie restriction or its mimetic might increase longevity in humans. It is unclear if calorie restriction/dieting contributes to cognitive impairment. During this randomized controlled trial, the effect of 6 months of calorie restriction on cognitive functioning was tested.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has shown that healthy behaviors, such as regular physical exercise, a nutritious diet, and not smoking, are associated with a lower risk for Alzheimer's disease and dementia. However, less is known about the potential link between healthy behaviors and mild memory symptoms that may precede dementia in different age groups.

The intrapsychic processes underlying the phenomenology of PTSD symptoms appear to derive their fate from the states of consciousness at the time of traumatic experiences. The operative mechanisms of consciousness-condensation, avoidance of censorship, representability, and secondary revision-are the elements of trauma work as they are of dream work. These mechanisms establish an ever-present dynamic mental state of space consciousness, which is defined as an essential component of mental activities.

Adaptation is a central organizing principle throughout biology, whether we are studying species, populations, or individuals. Adaptation in biological systems occurs in response to molar and molecular environments. Thus, we would predict that genetic systems and nervous systems would be dynamic (cybernetic) in contrast to previous conceptualizations with genes and brains fixed in form and function. Questions of nature versus nurture are meaningless, and we must turn to epigenetics--the way in which biology and experience work together to enhance adaptation throughout thick and thin.

This mini-review describes recent discoveries demonstrating that experience can drive the production of epigenetic marks in the adult nervous system and that the experience-dependent regulation of epigenetic molecular mechanisms in the mature central nervous system participates in the control of gene transcription underlying the formation of long-term memories. In the mammalian experimental systems investigated thus far, epigenetic mechanisms have been linked to associative fear conditioning, extinction of learned fear, and hippocampus-dependent spatial memory formation.

The emerging research on biomarkers in alcohol dependence has lead to a deeper understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms in alcoholism. The molecular networks and the pathophysiological circuits are complex and not completely unrevealed up to now. One of the most interesting biomarkers described to play an important role in alcohol dependence is the amino-acid homocysteine, which has particularly been linked with brain atrophy and withdrawal seizures.