Spikes in blood sugar can take a toll on memory by affecting the dentate gyrus, an area of the brain within the hippocampus that helps form memories, a new study reports. High glucose seemed to affect the dentate gyrus, part of the hippocampus.
Researchers said the effects can be seen even when levels of blood sugar, or glucose, are only moderately elevated, a finding that may help explain normal age-related cognitive decline, since glucose regulation worsens with age.
The study, by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center and funded in part by the National Institute on Aging, was published in the December issue of Annals of Neurology.
“If we conclude this is underlying normal age-related cognitive decline, then it affects all of us,” said lead investigator Dr. Scott Small, associate professor of neurology at Columbia University Medical Center. The ability to regulate glucose starts deteriorating by the third or fourth decade of life, he added.
Since glucose regulation is improved with physical activity, Dr. Small said, “We have a behavioral recommendation — physical exercise.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/01/health/31memory.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
Do you know where your dentate gyrus is? Do you know where your hippocampus resides inside your head? I suspect that by the end of the century, we all might know a bit more about our brains and how they operate.
But we don't care about naming brain parts, not really. Just as we typically don't think of the names of bones or muscules in our feet when we walk, nor the way different enzymes work when we digest food when we're out to dinner, naming how and why our brain is working is not something that typically makes its way into a business meeting.
But we do care about brains. We care about them because they are the seat of our consciousness and who we are. And we also care about others' brains, in essence, because as leaders we care about what we think, and we care about what others think.
If we're in charge, we care ... a lot. We view behaviors, we see outcomes, and if we work our way upstream to becoming even more effective, we come to understand people better (with ourselves as our primary teachers).
My name is Dr. Nancy Picard. I am a psychologist working with people in leadership positions, helping leaders to be more effective. Not right, which is often the mistake we make in attempting to lead, but effective. I will explain more about that later.
That's a little dry, tho. Clients don't come to me asking, "Nancy, can you make me more effective?" What do they explicitly ask?
1. I want people to understand why we're engaged in driving our strategy.
2. I want people to care about what we're trying to accomplish, to get on board with me and to go the extra mile to make things happen.
3. I want us to be successful, wildly successful, because we're the best and we can win.
How can we achieve that? Now, rather than later? How can we take what you want, and help you be more thoughtful about what it means to lead? Are you interested in the kinds of ideas that people like me typically offer?
As we explore the intersection between your body, your mind, and your ability to lead and influence others, I am going to make the case each week for the rationale, including relevant business book reviews (Food For Thought), the research (Your Leading Brain), Micro Executive workouts that you can do in 5 minutes to influence with more panache and effectiveness (Micro Exec Workouts), and the reality of accomplishing what I propose and what I learn on the way (Gritty Training Log).
Like anything in life, we rarely act alone in trying to accomplish something bigger than ourselves. My partners who will also share their thoughts are the superb trainers at Equinox Fitness' Tier 4 Program; performance coach Lisa Rainsberger, the last American woman to have won the Boston Marathon (1985); clients and leaders and and others in partnership invited to blog with me; and you.
This is a place where current clients, interested readers, and anyone in a position to lead may want to occasionally check in.
Until then, take both hands. If you can, place them on each side of your head, holding your ears. Inside your hands, you'll find there are about 3 pounds of you responsible for how you're reading, thinking, feeling and figuring out if you want to come back to read more about this blog.
This is your leading brain. What might happen if you cared about it, a little more, than you do today?
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