Free Republic

The victims of Alzheimer's could in theory recover their "lost" memories, according to a study which overturns conventional wisdom. The study suggests that long-term memories are not destroyed by dementia but made inaccessible. The insight has come from studies of mice whose brains lost a large number of nerve cells due to neuro-degeneration. They regained long-term memories and the ability to learn after their surroundings were enriched with toys and other sensory stimuli, according to the study published today in Nature.