An active lifestyle with many social contacts is related to a better memory function at a later age. Smoking, long sleep duration and severe stress have a negative effect on memory. This is what Klaming-Miller discovered in her research into the relationship between memory function and neuropsychiatric disorders in a group of elderly people and in a group of veterans. Ruth Klaming-Miller will defend her thesis on May 28th at Amsterdam UMC (VUmc).
An active lifestyle with many social contacts is related to a better memory function at a later age. Smoking, long sleep duration and severe stress have a negative effect on memory. This is what Klaming-Miller discovered in her research into the relationship between memory function and neuropsychiatric disorders in a group of elderly people and in a group of veterans. Ruth Klaming-Miller will defend her thesis on May 28th at Amsterdam UMC (VUmc).
Klaming-Miller studied 2,000 participants aged 65 and older from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA). It turned out that physical activity, mild to moderate alcohol consumption and social involvement were associated with better memory function. Smoking and excessive sleep were associated with a poorer memory function. Her work also shows that higher levels of mastery and self-efficacy were linked to better memory function. High neuroticism, on the other hand, was linked to worse memory function. Neuroticism is the tendency to experience emotions such as worry, anxiety, guilt, and being prone to experiencing stress.
Since stress is known to affect memory function and the hippocampus, Ruth studied a group of veterans who were exposed to trauma during their military combat deployment. The hippocampus is the brain structure that is primarily involved in the formation and recall of memory. The study, which visualized the brain by means of an MRI, showed that more severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were related to an expansion in the hippocampus. Exposure to more early life stress was linked to a larger hippocampus and amygdala. In a meta-analysis of studies with patients with PTSD and alcohol-related use disorders, Ruth discovered that a combination of these problems was linked to smaller volume of a brain region called the anterior cingulate cortex, which is mainly involved in decision making.
Based on these findings, Ruth discusses the effect of stress on how lifestyle factors, mental health, and disease impact memory function and the hippocampus, as well as the role that smart technology can play in the management of memory disorders. For instance, people with severe memory disorders may be able to compensate for their deficits by using reminders and alerts, contact lists and calendars, navigation, taking pictures. In addition, these results may help identify older adults who are at a greater risk for memory deficits and promote lifestyle choices that are beneficial for cognitive health.
