There are completely opposite views on memory-enhancing drugs. Some find it helpful and helpful in coping with increased mental stress that really helps and effectively.
Others say it’s just a myth that there’s no benefit to taking such drugs, and it’s even harmful and addictive to these drugs. Let’s try to consider both perspectives in more detail and figure out who is right.
A little about memory
Memory is a mental function of higher neural activity that helps to accumulate, preserve, and reproduce previously received information. Memory allows you to store information about the outside world or the reaction of the body for a long time, and you can use this information to organize your activities properly in the future.
Memory contains many different but related processes.
- Memorization- entering new data, sensations.
- Storage- the accumulation of data and sensations includes their processing and assimilation. This process allows a person to learn, develop his thinking and speech.
- Reproduction and recognition- updating elements, actions, feelings from the past. Reproduction is involuntary (elements "float" in a person's mind without his will and effort) and arbitrary.
- Forget- Loss of the ability to reproduce and recognize previously memorized items. It can be temporary or permanent. Forgetting is incomplete when information is reproduced or recognized in error or in part.
Basic memory types
There are many types and subtypes in memory classification. Let's talk about the main types.
- Sensory memory- preservation of sensory information after stimulation.
- Tactile memory- preserve information from receptors as a result of touch.
- Engine memory- save motion information, many may remember that there are movements that are performed automatically.
- Semantic memory- save information about facts, such as learned stories, dates, multiplication tables.
- Short-term memory- save information for a short time. It has a low volume.
- Long-term memory- unlimited storage of information, including for life.
Laws of Memory
Few know that there are many laws of memory. This is not the author’s invention, but scientifically grounded and proven real-life patterns.
- The Law of Repetition- information is much better remembered if it is repeated several times.
- Law of Interest- If a person is interested in information, they will remember it faster and better.
- The Law of Life- the information given at the beginning and end is best remembered.
- The Law of Understanding- if the information is deeply understood, it will be better remembered.
- The law of optimal queue length- the amount of stored information should not exceed the amount of short-term memory.
- Installation Act- The person who gave you the installation to remember this or that information will remember it faster and better.
- The Law of Inhibition- When memorizing similar concepts, the old information "overlaps" with the new.
- The Law of Context- When you memorize things that can already be associated with familiar concepts, you go faster.
- The Law of Action- When used in practice, what they remember is memorized more efficiently and quickly.
These laws can be used if you want to remember something faster and better, as well as train your memory.
Causes of memory loss
- Organic brain damage- acute cerebrovascular accident, traumatic brain injury, brain tumor.
- Diseases of other organs and systems- diseases of the liver, cardiovascular system.
- External factors- poor ecology, sharp changes in the surrounding living conditions, stress, sleep disorders.
- Age-related changes in brain structure- a decrease in the number of interneuronal connections.
- Chronic poisoning- smoking, drug use, drug use, alcoholism, drug abuse (sedatives, sedatives).
Handling memory problems
If memory needs to be improved, medications will be missed. First, they try to use non-drug methods. These are:
- Brisk walks in the fresh air. This increases the access of oxygen to the brain. This improves the efficiency of your work.
- Normalizes sleepand wakefulness.
- Evening training- the habit of recalling all the events of the day in reverse order, that is, recalling the events of the evening first, and in the end - the events of the morning - can become an unusual workout. It is better to do this before going to bed in bed.
- Positive attitude, don't stay on this- don't think your memory is bad, no one has eliminated the effects of self-hypnosis. If at some point you don’t remember something, don’t worry, don’t get angry, just get distracted, do something else, and then try to remember what you forgot again.
- Daily training- solving crosswords, puzzles, scanners.
- Education- learn poetry, foreign languages, do it regularly, gradually increase the amount of material learned.
Medicine for memory loss
Obviously, poetry, learning a foreign language, solving puzzles is not easy, you have to "work hard", you have to spend more time walking and solving puzzles, which a working person practically does not have.
It's much easier to take a pill, calm down, and hope for the magic of the drug - your memory improves immediately and you don't have to do anything! The modern city dweller is so lazy and spoiled by the fruits of civilization that today there are few purposeful people who want to spend time and energy on memory training. So a person is looking for an answer to the question - what pills exist to improve memory?
So let's take two opposing views on this issue:
Positive Opinion
Proponents of the use of these funds say many drugs help improve the blood supply to brain cells, thereby improving their nutrition and providing more oxygen, which improves the metabolic processes in nerve cells.
Nootropics and drugs that improve the rheological properties of the blood help with this.
Herbal preparations are widespread, which not only improve the metabolic processes in neurons, but also enhance the effect of nootropic drugs.
But it should be borne in mind that every (absolutely any) drug has its own contraindications and side effects, so in each clinical case it can only be prescribed by a doctor.
Negative opinion
Many experts say there is a downside to the coin. A few years ago, experts were puzzled by the question: are these drugs effective, or is it just a placebo effect?
As a result of several studies, the effectiveness of nootropics has not been proven. There is no evidence that they have a beneficial effect on memory. One small study of the effectiveness of drugs has shown that they have only a small effect, but not in severe cases.
Traditional methods and herbal preparations such as ginseng, vitamin E, are practically not researched. The evidence base only applies to the use of herbal medicines in patients with dementia. But there are no data on the efficacy of use in relatively healthy people.
In conclusion, I would like to say that when we are thinking about what medications can improve memory, let’s not forget that these should be prescribed by a doctor. And the doctor must always evaluate the effectiveness. Do not rely on the advice of friends, neighbors or relatives.
If you think your memory has deteriorated, see a neurologist. Maybe it’s not a problem at all, attention can be confused, there can be other problems. The cause of this condition must also be determined. And this can only be done by a qualified doctor.