Giving lab a piece of their mind

By Kenneth Rapoza, Globe Correspondent, 12/2/2001

ALTHAM - To the average person who is middle-aged or younger, forgetting where the car keys are or someone's name can simply be brushed aside as a momentary lapse. But people who are older have frequent battles with forgetfulness, worry that something worse is happening.

''As you get older, the fear of Alzheimer's is greater,'' said Dr. Patricia Tun, assistant director of the Memory and Cognition Lab at Brandeis University. ''When you're young and you can't remember where you parked your car at the mall, you think, `Oh well, I'm having one of those days.' But when you're 70, you start to worry.''

For the past 15 years, scientists at Brandeis University have relied on a steady flux of 300 to 400 volunteers to study the effects of aging on memory. They do not study Alzheimer's disease. All the volunteers are healthy, active, mostly retired adults who donate their time - and their minds - to the science of memory.

''If we didn't have those volunteers, we couldn't conduct these experiments and we wouldn't know what we know today about how a healthy memory functions,'' Tun said.

''I feel that I am part of the reason why scientists find solutions to brain diseases and memory loss,'' said Marvin Newmark of Framingham, who has volunteered at the memory lab for 15 years. Since the late 1980s, Newmark, 74, has not let Brandeis researchers down. ''They call me whenever they need someone. I never say no to them. I just want to contribute.''

There are usually six to 10 memory studies being conducted at the Memory Lab at any given time, so scientists there say there is always a need for new volunteers. Studies are fairly similar. They focus on memory and language, for the most part. Volunteers are often asked to listen to a short story through a headset and then answer questions about the story when it is finished. In other cases, they are asked to listen to a sentence with noise in the background, then they are asked to repeat as much of the sentence as they can.

Studies don't involve needles or medications and can take as little as two hours. Newcomers have to go through a five-minute application and interview before they can qualify as volunteers.

''I got involved because I can't remember a thing,'' said Pat Park, 62, of Brookline. ''I can't remember names, I substitute words like `postman' for `fireman' and,'' she paused, ''I can't even remember the question.'' Park has been volunteering for two years. She said she's ''hooked'' on the memory lab.

The memory problem of aging adults has at its roots a reduced efficiency at acquiring new information, writes memory lab director Arthur Wingfield [on the center's Web site, www.bio.brandeis.edu/memlab/]. Memory failures are a result of the aging brain's limited ability to acquire new information.

One study compared volunteers with undergraduates in a test to see who had a stronger recollective memory. Results showed that the older volunteers, all over 55, fared very well in most cases, and even outperformed the undergraduates in other cases. Another recent study showed that older adults' speech-processing difficulties may stem not from hearing loss, but from what researchers called ''fast, noisy talk'' - that one-two punch of speedy speech and excessive background noise. Studies do not verify whether or not a particular volunteer has memory problems.

Tun suggests that people should be wary of so-called memory-enhancement tapes often advertised on infomercials. She calls most of them a ''scam.''

''Most of the techniques they are teaching can be purchased in an inexpensive paperback. Otherwise there are specific techniques that require repetition to be remembered and utilized,'' she said. ''Is it important that you remember your shopping list? Or is it more important that you remember whether or not you just told that joke to someone the other day or took your meds today?''

Volunteers are presented with research findings shortly after the project's completion. They are paid $15 to $20 and are invited to a party for volunteers in the spring.

''I've never missed one yet,'' Newmark said. The parties include lectures about memory. ''I know a lot of the professors. I feel like I'm a part of that lab.'' Newmark, who also volunteers at the Newton Senior Center, the March of Dimes, and homeless shelters, had a slight stroke recently and has double vision because of it. Until it clears up, he will be unable to volunteer. He's hopeful his sight will return to normal.

Park, who was asked in September if she would like to volunteer again, said she made an appointment to meet with the researchers, ''but forgot to go,'' she said with a laugh. ''I figure my memory is just as bad as most people my age.''

Those interested in volunteering at the Memory and Cognition Lab may call 781-736-3288.

This story ran on page W6 of the Boston Globe on 12/2/2001.
© Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company.