Say good-bye to salmon-glucose may be the brain food of the '90s. Drinking lemonade laced with glucose, a simple sugar, improves memory in the elderly for at least 24 hours, reports University of Virginia psychologist Paul Gold, Ph.D.
The finding not only sheds light on how memory works, it also suggests that memory deficits may be treatable.
"I don't think glucose will prove a powerful treatment in itself, but it will increaseunderstanding of the neurobiological systems where glucose has an effect," says Gold.He had 22 healthy seniors listen to an audiotaped passage, recall it verbally, and then drink lemonade sweetened with either glucose or saccharin, the sugar substitute. Twenty-four hours later the seniors were asked again to recall details from the passage.
Those who got glucose recalled 53% more info than those who got saccharin. In a separate experiment, those who drank glucose before they heard the passage also improved their test scores significantly, Gold told the American Psychological Society.
The findings suggest that glucose somehow promotes memory storage - perhaps by slowing down the rate of forgetting-and that its effects may strengthen with time.
It's long been known that glucose is the main fuel of brain cells. But new studies show that blood levels of glucose also specifically influence the activity of neurons that release acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter involved in memory.
The research also suggests that Alzheimer's disease and Down's syndrome may involve faulty regulation of the chemical processes that control memory storage. Affected persons may be prime candidates fordrugs, yet to be developed, that can specifically mimic these reactions in the brain. Glucose is only a "primitive step" toward memory enhancement. But a little lemonade can't hurt.
