Doubts about False Memory SyndromeMarch 16, 2000These were the findings of a study published today, Tuesday 14 March, in the British Journal of Clinical Psychology by psychologist Dr Bernice Andrews, of Royal Holloway, University of London, and her colleagues. In their study, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, they interviewed 108 qualified therapists and constructed a dataset of case histories and recovered memories of 236 adults. Detailed analysis revealed that: Therapy often could not be blamed for memory recovery, since about one third of the clients had recovered memories before entering therapy. The most common triggers for memory recovery for all clients were events and circumstances involving their own children and other events involving physical threat and danger to themselves. Memories were less commonly triggered by books and media reports on child sexual abuse, or by therapists using memory recovery techniques. Most of the memories recovered were similar to those reported by patients diagnosed as having post-traumatic stress disorder following an event known to have occurred, such as a car or train crash. The memories were fragmented but detailed, accompanied by high levels of emotion such as fear, and experienced as reliving the original event. "The results from our study are in line with other findings that people can recover memories of non-sexual traumatic events, and that recovered memories are often independently corroborated," said Dr Andrews. "There is now increasing evidence that many recovered memories cannot be explained by so-called 'False Memory Syndrome'". British Psychological Society (BPS) |
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| Related Memory Current Events and Memory News Articles Surgery not linked to memory problems in older patients For years, it has been widely assumed that older adults may experience memory loss and other cognitive problems following surgery. But a new study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis questions those assumptions. Mother's Depression a Risk Factor in Childhood Asthma Symptoms, Study Suggests Asthma symptoms can worsen in children with depressed mothers, according to research from Johns Hopkins Children's Center published online in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology. New Down syndrome treatment suggested by Stanford/Packard study in mice At birth, children with Down syndrome aren't developmentally delayed. But as they age, these kids fall behind. Memory deficits inherent in Down syndrome hinder learning, making it hard for the brain to collect experiences needed for normal cognitive development. Cognitive dysfunction reversed in mouse model of Down syndrome A study by neuroscientist William C. Mobley, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and colleagues at Stanford University Medical School has demonstrated a possible new approach to slowing the inevitable progression of cognitive decline found in Down's syndrome. Saliva proteins change as women age In a step toward using human saliva to tell whether those stiff joints, memory lapses, and other telltale signs of aging are normal or red flags for disease, scientists are describing how the protein content of women's saliva change with advancing age. UCLA study shows brain's ability to reorganize Visually impaired people appear to be fearless, navigating busy sidewalks and crosswalks, safely finding their way using nothing more than a cane as a guide. New neuroimaging analysis technique identifies impact of Alzheimer's disease gene in healthy brains Brain imaging can offer a window into risk for diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). A study conducted at the University of Kansas School of Medicine demonstrated that genetic risk is expressed in the brains of even those who are healthy, but carry some risk for AD. Consumption of certain fish during pregnancy associated with poorer cognitive performance Children who eat fish more than 3 times per week show a worse performance in the general cognitive, executive and perceptual-manipulative areas. Does modernization affect children's cognitive development? Societal and technological changes have taken place at a dizzying pace over recent decades. A new cross-cultural study aimed to determine whether these dramatic changes have had an effect on the thinking skills that are learned over the course of childhood. Scientists decipher the formation of lasting memories Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have discovered a mechanism that controls the brain's ability to create lasting memories. In experiments on genetically manipulated mice, they were able to switch on and off the animals' ability to form lasting memories by adding a substance to their drinking water. More Memory Current Events and Memory News Articles |
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