Memory (Print Version)

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Memory

URL of this page: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/memory.html

Your mind works a lot like a computer. Your brain puts information it judges to be important into "files." When you remember something, you pull up a file. Memory doesn't always work perfectly. As people grow older, it may take longer to retrieve those files. Some adults joke about having a "senior moment."

It's normal to forget things once in awhile. We've all forgotten a name, where we put our keys, or if we locked the front door. But forgetting how to use the telephone or find your way home may be signs of a more serious problem. These include Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia, stroke, depression, head injuries, thyroid problems, or reactions to certain medicines. If you're worried about your forgetfulness, see your doctor.

National Institute on Aging

Start Here

Forgetfulness: It's Not Always What You Think(National Institute on Aging) - http://www.niapublications.org/agepages/forgetfulness.asp
Also available in Spanish http://www.niapublications.org/agepages/forgetfulness-sp.asp
Memory Loss with Aging: What's Normal, What's Not(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/seniors/common-older/124.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/seniors/common-older/124.printerview.html
Understanding Memory Loss(National Institute on Aging) - Large PDF file - http://www.nia.nih.gov/NR/rdonlyres/F35FE176-B3E6-4FD5-8FA0-C37E53EBCD89/0/understandingmemoryloss.pdf

Overviews

Coping with Memory Loss(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/consumer/features/memoryloss0507.html
Types of Memory(InteliHealth, Harvard Medical School) - http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/31393/31397/347125.html?d=dmtContent

Latest News

Early Alzheimer's Hinders Brain's Effort to Sort Information(05/04/2009, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_83765.html
Remembrance of Fat May Be at Root of Cravings(04/29/2009, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_83563.html
Meds Help Kids with ADHD in Classroom(04/27/2009, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_83431.html
More News on Memory http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/alphanews_m.html#memory

Diagnosis/Symptoms

Memory Loss: Symptoms That Should Trigger an Evaluation(InteliHealth, Harvard Medical School) - http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/31393/31398/347730.html?d=dmtContent

Prevention/Screening

Memory Loss: 7 Tips to Improve Your Memory(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/memory-loss/HA00001/METHOD=print

Alternative Therapy

Gingko(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/ginkgo/

Specific Conditions

Agnosia(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/agnosia/agnosia.htm
Amnesia(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/amnesia/DS01041/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
Dissociation and Dissociative Disorders(Mental Health America) - http://www.nmha.org/go/information/get-info/dissociation-and-dissociative-disorders
Dissociative Disorders(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/dissociative-disorders/DS00574/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
Forget What You Heard about Amnesia(InteliHealth) - http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/31393/31479/345689.html?d=dmtICNNews
JAMA Patient Page: Mild Cognitive Impairment(American Medical Association) - Links to PDF - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/300/13/1610.pdf
Memory Loss: When to Seek Help(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/memory-loss/HQ00094/METHOD=print
Mild Cognitive Impairment(Alzheimer's Association) - http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_mild_cognitive_impairment.asp
Mild Cognitive Impairment(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/mild-cognitive-impairment/DS00553/METHOD=print&DSECTION=all
Post-Concussion Syndrome(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/post-concussion-syndrome/DS01020/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
Reversible Causes of Memory Change(InteliHealth, Harvard Medical School) - http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/31393/31398/347135.html?d=dmtContent
Right Hemisphere Brain Damage(American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) - http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/RightBrainDamage.htm
Transient Global Amnesia(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/transient-global-amnesia/DS01022/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print

Related Issues

Chemobrain(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/MBC/content/MBC_2_3x_Chemobrain.asp?sitearea=MBC
Chemobrain(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/chemo-brain/DS01109/METHOD=print&DSECTION=all
JAMA Patient Page: Delirium(American Medical Association) - Links to PDF - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/300/24/2936.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/data/291/14/1794/DC1/1
Questions and Answers about Memories of Childhood Abuse(American Psychological Association) - http://www.apa.org/pubinfo/mem.html
Statin Drugs: Can They Cause Memory Loss?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/statin-drugs/AN01116/METHOD=print

Videos

If I Had - A Memory Problem(Insidermedicine) - http://www.insidermedicine.com/Archives/If_I_Had_-_A_Memory_Problem_-_Dr_Barry_Gordon_MD_PhD__2023.aspx?p=mdlnp
Sleep, Learning, and Memory(Harvard Medical School) - http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/video/sleep07_stickgold_learning

Anatomy/Physiology

How Memory Works(InteliHealth, Harvard Medical School) - http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/31393/31397/347126.html?d=dmtContent

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Amnesia(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Amnesia%22
ClinicalTrials.gov: Memory Disorders(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Memory+Disorders%22
ClinicalTrials.gov: Memory(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=memory

Research

Caffeine No Substitute for a Nap to Enhance Memory(National Institute of Mental Health) - http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2008/caffeine-no-substitute-for-a-nap-to-enhance-memory.shtml
Low Levels of Good Cholesterol Linked to Memory Loss, Dementia Risk(American Heart Association) - http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=451
Testing Makes Perfect, Finds Memory Retrieval Research(American Psychological Association) - http://www.apa.org/monitor/2008/06/testing.html

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: Levels of consciousness during regional anesthesia and monitored anesthesia care:... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19372336&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Fighting the fog of "chemo brain." Chemotherapy may keep your... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19353815&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Diagnosis of ovarian cancer and object relationships in early memories:... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19282687&tool=MedlinePlus
Memory -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=memory[majr]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+AND+(jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
Memory disorders -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=memory+disorders[majr]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+AND+(patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

Medical Encyclopedia

Memory - http://vsearch.nlm.nih.gov/vivisimo/cgi-bin/query-meta?v:project=medlineplus&binning-state=group%3d%3dMedical%20Encyclopedia&query=Memory

Organizations

National Institute of Mental Health - http://www.nimh.nih.gov/
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/
Also available in Spanish http://espanol.ninds.nih.gov/
National Institute on Aging - http://www.nia.nih.gov/
Also available in Spanish http://www.nia.nih.gov/Espanol/

Children

Memory Matters(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/brain/memory.html

Seniors

Eldercare at Home: Memory Problems(AGS Foundation for Health in Aging) - http://www.healthinaging.org/public_education/eldercare/17.xml
Memory Changes in Older Adults(American Psychological Association) - http://www.psychologymatters.org/memchanges.html
Memory Loss with Aging: What's Normal, What's Not(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/seniors/common-older/124.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/seniors/common-older/124.printerview.html

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Alzheimer's Disease - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/alzheimersdisease.html
Dementia - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/dementia.html
Brain and Nerves - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/brainandnerves.html
Mental Health and Behavior - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/mentalhealthandbehavior.html
Seniors - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/seniors.html

The primary NIH organization for research on Memory is the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/

Date last updated: May 05 2009

Topic last reviewed: December 07 2008