New research from the University of Cambridge has revealed that memory difficulties such as those seen in dementia may arise because the brain forms incomplete memories that are more easily confused.
Researchers found that the ability of the brain to maintain complete, detailed memories is disrupted. The remaining, less detailed memories are relatively easily confused, leading to an increased likelihood of falsely remembering information that was not encountered.
The researchers hope that their research could lead to new treatments that reduce the confusion between memories, perhaps with the development of drugs that can enhance the complex, detailed representations that are required to separate memories.
“This study suggests that a major component of memory problems may actually be confusion between memories, rather than loss of memories per se,” said Dr Lisa Saksida.
Alzheimer's disease
“This is consistent with reports of memory distortions in dementia – for example, patients may not switch off the cooker, or may fail to take their medication, not because they have forgotten that they should do these things, but because they think they have already done so,” she added.
Animals were allowed to look at an object and then, after an hour, were given a memory test in which they were either shown the same object again, or a new object.
Normal animals spent more time exploring the new object, indicating that they remembered the old object but amnesic animals, however, performed poorly on the memory task, as they spent an equal amount of time exploring the old and the new object.
Interestingly, the amnesic animals explored the new object less than the normal animals did, indicating false memory for the new object.
Saksida continued, “One thing that we found very surprising about our results was the extent of the memory recovery, achieved simply by reducing the incoming information prior to the memory test.
“Not only does this result confound our expectations, but it also gives us a clearer understanding of the possible nature of the memory impairment underlying amnesia and certain types of dementia, which is critical to developing more sophisticated and effective treatments.”
“Early detection of memory impairment is critical for the development of such treatments, and a better understanding of the nature of the impairment, as we have found here, is critical to such early detection.”
The findings are published today in the journal Science.
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Nursing care for people with dementia is in need of a radical overhaul, a leading think tank has warned.
The King’s Fund says people with Alzheimer’s and dementia in England are having NHS-funded care withdrawn in the later stages of their illness.
It says relatives have to pick up the bill for additional nursing support.
The government says the number of people receiving continuing care has risen by almost two-thirds in the past three years.
There are 820,000 people living with dementia in the UK and that number is set to rise as the population ages, according to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust.
Christophe Grillet, from Cambridge, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease 17 years ago, was receiving round-the-clock health care from the NHS at home but as his condition became more advanced, he was reassessed and the continuous care was withdrawn.
His wife Kate said: “They say his needs are primarily social care needs – washing, dressing, feeding and that he’s relatively easy to deal with.
“The country is full of people, including my husband, who are having their support taken away and left to try and fund whatever care they can get themselves.
“This doesn’t take into account when you have Alzheimer’s your health needs are even more, you don’t get better.”
Mrs Grillet said she felt excluded from much of the decision-making regarding his NHS-funded care and now her husband is in a home which costs them £600 a week.
“Because we didn’t get the support we needed, we are separated, and that is the biggest problem,” she added.
The government has issued guidelines to primary care trusts (PCTs) on how they should assess the continuing care needs of people with dementia but campaigners say funding cuts mean many PCTs just ignore them.
Barbara Pointon, from Dementia UK and the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “What’s happening with NHS continuing health care is it’s getting more and more difficult to get in the first place, and when people with dementia move into the advanced stage and need more care, it’s being taken away from them.”
The King’s Fund is calling for a shake-up of the system that differentiates between health care, which the NHS pays for, and social care, which local authorities and individuals have to fund.
Richard Humphries, from the health think tank, told the BBC: “The system is increasingly broken and it will struggle to cope with the rising tide of people with dementia and people will become more dissatisfied with it.
“We desperately need a radical overall to bring more fairness and more funding into the system.”