FACT SHEET - Maryland State Archives



APT CONTACT: Kerry Taylor

(617) 338-4455, ext. 121

kerry_taylor@

MPT CONTACT: Rebecca Penovich

(410) 581-4233 rpenovich@mail.

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PRESS RELEASE

Boost Your Memory at Any Age

Memory Expert Shares Tips in a New Public Television Special

OWINGS MILLS, MD — One of the world’s leading authorities on memory, Barry Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., offers his five tools for boosting memory in a new show debuting on public television in June 2004 (check local listings). IMPROVING YOUR MEMORY WITH DR. BARRY GORDON has exciting news. Becoming forgetful has been a lamentable part of growing older, but Dr. Gordon assures viewers that they can boost memory with scientifically proven mental strategies that outperform vitamins, special diets or herbal supplements.

In this one-hour special, Dr. Gordon, founder of Johns Hopkins’ Memory Clinic* and author of two notable books on memory, motivates his audience to take control of their memory and shows them entertaining and challenging brain exercises to improve memory. “Just like your body needs exercise to keep fit, so does your brain,” Dr. Gordon tells the audience. “Even though everyone starts out with different amounts of memory, you can make whatever you do have better, at any age. A recent study showed that even in people 65 and over, just 12 hours of training could reverse the mental declines of 7 to 14 years of aging. And that improvement lasted at least two years!”

Dr. Gordon calls upon his decades of work with memory patients in IMPROVING YOUR MEMORY WITH DR. BARRY GORDON. Appearing in front of a live studio

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audience, the renowned doctor answers pressing memory questions, explains how memory works in an easy-to-understand way and captivates the audience with his five tools for improving memory in everyday life. Dr. Gordon reassures viewers that many of their worries are simply the normal workings of memory. He helps the audience understand memory by explaining, as never before done for the public, that there are two types of memory. Ordinary memory remembers facts like dates and names, and it can slow down and get worse with age. Intelligent memory gives us our skills, helps us make insightful connections between ideas and concepts, solves everyday problems and makes us creative. Intelligent memory can get stronger and faster with the years. Dr. Gordon shows how to make both kinds of memory stronger and work more effectively.

Produced by Maryland Public Television in association with Intelligence Amplification, Inc., IMPROVING YOUR MEMORY WITH DR. BARRY GORDON combines cutting-edge science with fun tips, quizzes and exercises for the brain. The show is distributed nationally by American Public Television’s (APT) Premium Service and is underwritten by the National Retired Teachers Association (NRTA), AARP’s Educator Community.

Maryland Public Television (MPT) is among the largest producers of national programs for public television. Major series include Wall $treet Week with FORTUNE, MotorWeek, Barbecue University™ with Steven Raichlen, and Jewish Cooking in America with Joan Nathan. For more information, visit .

For over 42 years, American Public Television (APT) has been a major source of programming for the nation’s public television stations. APT has more than 10,000 hours of available programming including Discovering the Real World of Harry Potter, Globe Trekker, Muhammad Ali: Through the Eyes of the World, Nightly Business Report, Rick Steves’ Europe, Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home, Ballykissangel and Brian Jacques’ Redwall. APT is known for identifying innovative programs and developing creative distribution techniques for producers. In four decades, it has established a tradition of providing public television stations nationwide with program choices that enable them to strengthen and customize their schedules. Press should contact Donna Hardwick at 617-338-4455 ext. 129 or via e-mail to donna_hardwick@. For more information about APT's programs and services, log on to .

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FACT SHEET

TITLE: IMPROVING YOUR MEMORY WITH

DR. BARRY GORDON

[TV-G] [CC] [STEREO]

LENGTH: 1/60

NOLA CODE: IYMD

CATEGORY: How To/Self Help

OFFERED: Premium Service 15 offer, March 2004

RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2004

CONTRACT TERMS: Unlimited use through August 31, 2006

PROGRAM SUPPLIER: Maryland Public Television in association with Intelligence Amplification, Inc.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: In this lively one-hour special, noted author and founder of the Johns Hopkins’ Memory Clinic,* Barry Gordon, M.D., Ph.D, explains how to strengthen your memory and use it more creatively in everyday life. Dr. Gordon helps people sharpen two different kinds of memory, ordinary and intelligent, and outlines his five tools for improving memory. In addition, Dr. Gordon provides fun and challenging exercises that energize the brain and he answers pressing questions about memory loss and memory-related diseases. A nationally recognized expert on memory and a frequent radio and television guest, Dr. Gordon is the author of Memory: Remembering and Forgetting in Everyday Life and is co-author with Lisa Berger of Intelligent Memory: Improve the Memory That Makes You Smarter. Dr. Gordon also founded the Cognitive Neurology/ Neuropsychology Group at Johns Hopkins,

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where he is a founding member of the Mind/Brain Institute.

PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS: Use the above program description for guide listing. A press kit, including fact sheet, press release, biography, interview and memory quiz will be posted to FirstClass, , and pressroom. Color photos will be available via e-mail, on and on pressroom. Download links coming soon to download logo and image(s) of Dr. Gordon. (credit )

COPYRIGHT: © 2004, Maryland Public Television

PRODUCTION CREDITS: Written by Dr. Barry Gordon and Lisa Berger, produced by Michael English and executive produced by Steven J. Schupak

BROADCAST HISTORY: U.S. television premiere

UNDERWRITER: NRTA: AARP’s Educator Community

RELATED MERCHANDISE: Viewers:

Program VHS and DVD, Hardcover book: Intelligent Memory: Improve the Memory That Makes You Smarter, Softcover book: Memory: Remembering and Forgetting in Everyday Life. To order call 800-873-6154 or go to shop.

Pledge:

Same items as above. Available through Forest Incentives.

VIEWER INQUIRIES: American Public Television

Viewer Services

55 Summer Street, 4th Floor

Boston, MA 02110

617-338-4455 ext. 202

WEB SITE: drgordon

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STATION RELATIONS CONTACT: Janice Carey, MPT

(410) 581-4374

janicecarey@

COMMUNICATIONS CONTACTS: Kerry Taylor, APT

(617) 338-4455, ext. 121

kerry_taylor@

Rebecca Penovich, MPT

(410) 581-4233

rpenovich@mail.

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4/14/04

BIOGRAPHY

|Barry Gordon, M.D., Ph.D. |

Dr. Gordon is professor of neurology and cognitive science, founder of the Memory Clinic and the Cognitive Neurology/Neuropsychology section of the Neurology Department at The Johns Hopkins’ Medical Institutions,* and holder of an endowed chair to study the treatment of brain disorders at The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. He is one of the world’s leading experts in the study and treatment of memory and language disorders. Dr. Gordon is author of Memory: Remembering and Forgetting in Everyday Life and co-author with Lisa Berger of Intelligent Memory: Improve the Memory That Makes You Smarter.

Dr. Gordon has authored/co-authored more than 140 professional papers and book chapters. A nationally recognized expert on memory and the brain, Dr. Gordon is frequently quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time magazine, Newsweek, USA Today, Parade, Reader’s Digest, Prevention and US News and World Report. He has talked about memory on The Oprah Winfrey Show, NPR’s Fresh Air, Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN’s Weekend Housecall, NBC’s Dateline, CBS’s Morning Edition, the Discovery Channel, the Learning Channel and MSNBC On Air.

INTERVIEW

IMPROVING YOUR MEMORY WITH DR. BARRY GORDON

Q: Dr. Gordon, your new public television special debuts this June across the nation. You also have two books, Intelligent Memory and Memory: Remembering and Forgetting in Everyday Life, available in publication.

What led you to concentrate in this particular field? Tell us a bit about your background and how you developed your own television special.

A: Well, I was always interested in how things work and always tinkering with things. My interests originally were in the physical sciences, physics and math. But then I began getting very interested in memory — partly because I didn’t think I had that great of a memory. Also, partly because I was wondering how I could remember certain things — why some things were so incredibly easy and some things were incredibly difficult. I had the benefit of a roommate in medical school who seemed to have a fabulous memory and made the rest of us very envious. So that helped me get interested in understanding how the brain worked.

The special actually came about because I had been doing lectures for the Smithsonian Associates in Washington, DC for a couple of years. And some people from Maryland Public Television sat in on the last one, which was occasioned by my last book Intelligent Memory. They liked the material and suggested that we do something together. As in many of these situations, the actual TV program is the work of many people — Lisa Berger, my co-writer for Intelligent Memory, Jay Rogovin, Susan Gorn, Michael English from Maryland Public Televison and Steven Schupak from MPT as well.

Q: In your books you offer fun exercises to help people improve their memories. Share with us a tip that people respond to the best.

A: I tell people not to worry about their memories. Its failings are natural problems. They’re not even real failings because that’s how memory actually works. Forgetting is built into our memories. If we were to remember too much, things would get jammed up. So that’s one reason we forget – to clear things up. Also, our brains link memories together so we can find them better. This is one very critical way our memories work better than those of a computer. A lot of what we call forgetting or inaccurate memory actually is the way our memory works — it makes associations.

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Memory mistakes are so natural that people shouldn’t be flustered by them. They should do what actors and actresses do which is just to go on. And once you’ve accepted the possibility you’ll make mistakes, you’ll actually make fewer.

Q: What signs of improvement have you seen in patients who use your methods of improving memory? How long does it take before patients normally see results?

A: With someone who has a memory in the normal range to begin with, memory can start improving right away. But you may not appreciate that it’s happening that quickly, both because it takes a while to build up to peak strength, and because there’s a lot of memories that can be improved. It’s a lot like exercise. You know your muscles are getting stronger when you exercise them, but you’ve got 200-plus muscles, so just working on one doesn’t tone up your entire body. owHHHUltimately, however, you can get tremendous memory progress in any particular area. Some people have been able to improve some aspects of their memories 1000% or more.

Patients with memory problems pose difficult challenges — different from the kind that people with normal memory face. But the basic principles remain the same.

Q: Is there one particular reason either medically or genetically that people have trouble with their memories, or is it a combination of circumstances? If so, what are some of the findings you see as the reason for failed memory?

A: It’s really a combination of circumstances. We probably do differ inherently, genetically, from person to person. Some people, for example, are musical geniuses and the rest of us are not. That’s probably more inherent. On the other hand, there are a lot of things that we build up through experience that also differentiate us from other people. From a very early age, someone might be interested in numbers and someone else might be interested in people. The two of them are going to develop different memory strengths. One of the paradoxes in memory that I mention in my book Memory: Remembering and Forgetting in Everyday Life is that some of the people who complain most about their memories actually have excellent memories, but they’re just not satisfied. It’s kind of like not being thin enough.

Q: As people age, many are concerned with the potential loss of memory. For viewers watching this program who are concerned with their memory loss, what are three or four things you suggest they do immediately if they feel their memory is failing?

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A: The first thing they should do is not panic. Most of the time when people are concerned about their own memory loss, they’re not actually having memory loss from the brain at all. Most reasons for apparent memory loss are due to such reversible problems as anxiety, depression, overwork, stress, lack of sleep — that kind of thing. These can affect memory, but don’t permanently damage the brain. So, people should realize that just because they think they’re having a memory problem, doesn’t mean that anything is fundamentally or seriously wrong.

The second thing they should keep in mind is that people themselves are bad judges of whether they’re having a memory problem. If you think you’re having a memory problem, the odds are good that you’re not having one. If you were really having a memory problem, you wouldn’t remember that you had forgotten. It’s actually other people like friends, family and spouses who can better determine how your memory is working. If they’re concerned about your memory, then you should be concerned that you’re having a memory problem, and go for an evaluation. Whatever might be found, it will be better to catch it early. Some of the things that can impair memory can be taken care of fairly easily. You just have to discover them in time.

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MEMORY QUIZ

COMMON MEMORY MYTHS

Q: Do people lose brain cells every day and eventually just run out?

A: No. As an adult, most of the regions of the brain do not lose brain cells as you get older. You may lose some nerve connections, though this is not necessarily a bad thing. It can be part of the resculpting of the brain that occurs with experience. Regardless, it’s possible that you can even grow new brain cells and new connections, or prevent the ones you have from withering, if you exercise your mind and brain.

Q: Can you do anything to keep your memory from getting worse as you get older?

A: Yes. While the memory deficits that can occur with aging are actually relatively slight, they can certainly be annoying. There are a few simple strategies that can help keep your thinking vibrant, improve the quality of your everyday life, help use your memory most effectively, and even improve your memory ability.

Q: Can a person kill or hurt someone and never remember it?

A: Possibly. Research does suggest that it is possible that a few people may not remember a few acts of passion very well. But this must be rare. Almost everyone can be expected to remember at least something of what happened. It is unlikely that such “amnesia” happens as often as it seems to be claimed as a

defense strategy.

Q: Is it true that everything I’ve ever learned is locked inside my head; I just need the right key to get it out?

A: No. Our memories are not so much locked away as they are rearranged and repainted. And we forget selectively, too. You may find the key, but expect that the room you step into has been remodeled.

Q: Is everyone born with the same memory ability, but some use it and others lose it?

A: No. All memory abilities are not created equal, and they get even more unequal as we get older. But it is not clear why these differences occur at any age.

* Information taken from Memory: Remembering and Forgetting in Everyday Life and Intelligent Memory: Improve the Memory That Makes You Smarter by Barry Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., and Lisa Berger.

** Participation by Dr. Barry Gordon in the development and production of this program does not constitute or imply endorsement by the Johns Hopkins University or the Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System.

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