Attention and Memory
Dr. Bruno’s Original Post:
Do you have a Memory problem? It’s probably not Alzheimer’s. It's Attention.
Many of you know that our research has found that polio survivors with fatigue have impaired ability to pay attention, not impaired memory. This article describes just what we found.
“Struggling to recall something? You may not have a memory problem - just an attention problem”
SCIENCE. Sep 29, 2021 / By Lisa Genova
“Not long ago, when I was somewhere in my mid-40s, I drove to Cambridge, Massachusetts, from Cape Cod and parked my car in a garage. I was scheduled to give a talk a couple of blocks away and had hoped to arrive earlier. Normally I take a photo of the floor number or the row letter whenever I park in a garage. But worried I was late, I raced out of there without getting a photo and, worse, without consciously registering where I had parked.
I arrived on time, gave my 45-minute talk, answered questions and signed books. When I returned to the garage, I walked to where I thought I had parked, but my car wasn’t there. I paced up and down ramps, becoming increasingly frustrated and hopeless. I was sure I had parked on the fourth floor, but maybe it was the third or the fifth? And did I park in section A, B or C? No idea.
I knew I was in the right garage, but that’s all. I was just about to report my car stolen when I stumbled upon it in 4B. Relieved, embarrassed and sweating, I wanted to blame the whole experience on my memory, but the neuroscientist in me knew better. I couldn’t find my car not because I had a horrible memory, amnesia, dementia or Alzheimer’s - I couldn’t find my car because I never paid attention to where I had parked it in the first place.
If we want to remember something, above all else we need to notice. And noticing requires two things: perception (seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling) and attention. Your memory isn’t a video camera, recording a constant stream of every sight and sound you’re exposed to - you can only capture and retain what you pay attention to. . . . “
For more information, look in the Index of the ENCYCLOPEDIA of POLIO & PPS under the subject "Fatigue"