1998 LECTURE SERIES

The Aging Brain: Distinguishing Normal and Pathological Memory Loss

Dr. Jelle Jolles
Maastricht Brain and Behavior Institute, Netherlands
May 13, 1998

As we all suspect, memory function appears to decline with age. The rate at which this happens is determined by both health-related and psychological factors, including education. Dr. Jolles' research provides valuable new insights into our understanding of the cognitive problems of the elderly.

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Language, Brain and Mind: Early Experience Alters the Perception of Speech

Dr. Patricia Kuhl
Child Development Center
University of Washington
April 1, 1998

Language experience during the first year of life has a dramatic and lasting effect on infants' perception and production of speech. Dr. Kuhl discusses her insightful research on infants from many cultures, showing how early language experience produces the unique way in which individuals understand and speak their "mother tongue."

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Can Estrogen Keep You Smart? A Role for Estrogen in Preserving Memory

Dr. Barbara B. Sherwin
Department of Psychology
McGill University, Montreal
January 28, 1998

Estrogen is known to have an important effect on areas of the brain responsible for memory. Dr. Sherwin's pioneering studies of young, middle-aged and elderly women show that estrogen helps maintain specific kinds of memory and suggest that this hormone may benefit older women's quality of life in unexpected ways.

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