Clive Wearing: Trapped in Time

Clive Wearing suffers from the world’s most profound case of amnesia; he is unable to either form new memories or recall many of the events his past.

In 1985, Wearing contracted a herpes simplex virus. Shortly thereafter, it attacked his central nervous system and he became afflicted with viral encephalitis; he has been unable to form new memories ever since and constantly believes he is awakening from a deep void and gaining consciousness for the first time.

I’m touched by the tragedy and beauty of Clive Wearing’s condition. On one hand, he’s lost nearly everything except his most profound long-term memories. He still has consciousness, but it’s not in a form any of us can really understand or empathize with; my best analogy would be to imagine having a computer that erased your new documents and would reboot every 2 minutes. No doubt, there’s few of us who would have the patience to use such a machine. Therefore I greatly admire Wearing’s courage to continuously awaken and face an unfamiliar and daunting world.

Clive Wearing’s brain reboots every 30 seconds. Would you use a computer that did that? Click to tweet this!

One can not help but be touched by the glee he experiences whenever he sees his wife as well. On some level, I think his consciousness is even purer than mine; he lives fully in the present and is driven by his emotions yet is not weighed down by them. Any great tragedy he faces is quickly forgotten, although sadly this is true of the joy he experiences as well. Nevertheless, his condition aptly illustrates the connection between memory and our concept of what consciousness is.

Long-term memory is effectively permanent and consists of the things we learn as well as events we remember. Many elements of Clive Wearing’s long-term memory remain intact. He remembers his wife, his past experience as a conductor, and working for the BBC. Surprisingly, Wearing has been able to learn and recall a handful of facts since contracting encephalitis; he is aware of the reunification of Germany as well as the collapse of the Soviet Union, among other things. Nonetheless, Wearing’s ability to form new long-term memories remains extremely impaired.

Explicit memory consists of things we can consciously recall such as a friend’s name or the president of the United States. Implicit memory, on the other hand, consists of the things we don’t realize we remember. I’m fascinated by Wearing’s inability to locate the kitchen yet having no problem making a cup of tea when asked. This would indicate that his explicit memory has been damaged while his implicit memories remain intact. Another way of looking at this would be to compare procedural versus declarative knowledge. Procedural knowledge can be thought of as “knowing how”, while declarative knowledge can be thought of as “knowing that”. Clive Wearing’s procedural knowledge of how to make a cup of tea remains intact, but he cannot declare the location of the kitchen.

Despite Clive Wearing’s tragic condition, we’ve learned a lot about the human brain from studying him. It’s reassuring to know he lives comfortably, is taken care of by nurses who understand his condition, and that he has a loving wife that has stood beside him despite his condition. Although he faces daily hardship, he’s clearly lucid and retains consciousness despite the loss of his memory.

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Grand Re-opening

Several people have managed to find their way to this blog through my Twitter and LinkedIn pages. And while of course I welcome that, I originally intended for this site to serve as my academic portfolio and therefore I thought it wasn’t of interest to a general audience.

As I continue growing an online audience, however, I’m realizing that I do have several topics I would like to write about for my readers. Therefore, I’ve done my best to segment this blog into academic and general interest sections. Generally I’ll link directly to the blog posts in question, but you’re also encouraged to browse the Blog section to see other articles I’ve written for a general audience.

Thanks for visiting!

Cognitive development in late adulthood

Fluid intelligence begins a slow decline beginning around the age of 30. Up until about age 60, however, these declines can be compensated by gains in crystallized intelligence, which includes procedural and declarative knowledge (Broderick & Blewitt, 2009). As individuals enter late adulthood, the brain begins working less efficiently, but many adults continue increasing their crystallized knowledge until the end of life.

In terms of brain function, the brain operates differently in old age. Broderick and Blewitt (2009) note that some brain sites become underactivated, while others such as the prefrontal lobe–which is involved in personality expression and decision making–become overactivated. The authors also note that the elderly are more likely to use both sides of the brain to perform a task, and this is likely to be a method of compensating for decreased functioning overall.

As mentioned, crystallized intelligence generally does increase into late adulthood. Schaie (as cited in Broderick & Blewitt, 2009) states that it’s only at age 74 that modest declines in crystallized intelligence begin and many individuals show no decline at all. However, Singer, Verhaeghen, Ghisletta, Lindenberger, & Baltes (as cited in Broderick and Blewitt) found that vocabulary knowledge (a form of crystallized intelligence) increased from ages 70 to 90 and only declined slowly thereafter.

Ball, Berch, Helmers, et al. (2002) found that computer-based “brain training” exercises kept older adults mentally sharp. Adults received training in tasks relating to speed training (quickly recognizing objects on a screen), memorization, and reasoning (which included pattern identification). Nearly 90% of participants who received speed training, 74% who received reasoning training, and 26% of the memorization group showed improvement on subsequent tests relating to their area of focus. These improvements remained noticeable throughout the five years of the study and was most prominent in individuals who received “refresher” courses. However, it was only the speed training group whose performance improved five years after the study; nonetheless, researcher Sheryl Zimmerman notes that any measurable improvement after five years is a significant finding (Associated Press, 2006). This study therefore demonstrates need for older adults to remain mentally engaged and find cognitively challenging tasks.

References:

Associated Press (2006). ‘Use-it-or-lose-it’ brain theory put to the test. Retrieved Dec. 12, 2011 from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16284851/ns/health-aging/t/use-it-or-lose-it-brain-theory-put-test/#.TuaTpvI2G9U

Ball, K., Berch, D.B., Helmers, K. F., Jobe, J. B., Leveck, M. D., Marsiske, M. … Willis, S. L. (2002). Effects of cognitive training interventions with older adults. Journal of the American Medical Association, 288(18), 2271-2281.

Broderick, P. C., & Blewitt, P. (2009) The life span: Human development for helping professionals (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Allyn & Bacon.

Mental health in middle adulthood

As individuals enter middle adulthood, they begin the process of senescence, or “growing down” (Levinson; as cited in Broderick and Blewitt, 2009). Health slowly deteriorates over the years in terms of mental acuity and physical performance. Of particular interest to psychologists is how the brain continues to function in middle adulthood; this post will examine various measures of mental health in adults aged 30-60.

Intelligence measures
“Fluid intelligence” refers to the mechanical workings of the brain and its overall cognitive efficiency; it is thought to decline slowly at age 30 and more rapidly after age 40 (Broderick and Blewitt, 2009). Those with diminished fluid intelligence will take longer to process and respond to information (Kail & Salthouse; as cited in Broderick and Blewitt) and may become more easily distracted (Zacks & Hasher; as cited in Broderick and Blewitt). As fluid intelligence declines, so too does working memory. Broderick and Blewitt provide several examples of the forms this may take; remembering 5 rather than 6 digits of a phone number, or having trouble putting a name to someone’s face (p. 427).

“Crystallized intelligence” refers to intellect in the form of declarative and procedural knowledge; the purpose of education is to increase the crystallized intelligence of students. Unlike fluid intelligence, crystallized intelligence generally does not decline during middle adulthood–much to the contrary, it can actually increase if the individual continues to pursue more education (Broderick and Blewitt, 2009). So as an individual’s working memory declines, he or she has more knowledge to draw upon to solve problems, thus preventing any significant mental decline.

Eriksonian view
The psychologist Erik Erikson (as cited in Broderick & Blewitt, 2009) believed that those in middle age faced the challenge of generativity versus stagnation. Those who achieve generativity feel a sense of accomplishment in providing for their community as well as the next generation; they often have meaningful careers as well as children (although generativity can mean different things to different people). Those who do not achieve generativity may face stagnation, or dissatisfaction with one’s state of life and lack of productiveness. Therefore, Erikson might claim that a generative adult would be more likely to have good mental health.

Baltes’ (as cited in Broderick & Blewitt, 2009) view of middle adulthood meshes well with that of Erikson’s. Baltes argued that young adults contribute to the survival of the species by reproducing (or achieving intimacy, according to Erikson). Meanwhile, older adults contribute by teaching and guiding the younger generation, and their continued development is much more dependent on cultural support rather than natural, biological processes.

Marital satisfaction
Another indicator of mental health in adults might be satisfaction with their marriage, although this may be a relative measure. Researchers such as Vaillant and Vaillant (as cited in Broderick & Blewitt, 2009) have consistently found that marital satisfaction declines over time, especially in women. Possible explanations for this include disillusionment (in which the idealized vision of one’s spouse is at odds with reality), or an inability make amends after experiencing conflict. Couples that can address conflict head-on and repair frayed nerves are more likely to remain together, which undoubtedly helps both individuals maintain positive mental health.

Just as adults receive regular health check-ups to screen for things such as cancer, perhaps they should also place as much attention on their mental health. Adopting healthy habits, striving towards goals, and continuing to grow as a person in middle adulthood is most certainly critical to living a fulfilling life.

References:
Broderick, P. C., & Blewitt, P. (2009) The life span: Human development for helping professionals (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Allyn & Bacon.

Photo by Cindi Matthews

How to increase cohesion within a group

Groups perform most effectively when its members are united in their desire to complete a task and each member makes a contribution. These behaviors can be encouraged when group members feel a sense of cohesion; in such situations they’ll like other group members, feel pride, and interact with other members regularly (Carless & DePaola, 2000; Cota et al., 1995; Dion, 2000; as cited in Kassin, Fein, and Markus, 2008). There are many methods by which someone can increase cohesion within a group:

Effective leadership
A good leader can delegate tasks to a group’s members, communicate effectively with them, and keep group members motivated. Jung and Sosik (2002) found that when business leaders encouraged group members to work autonomously, members reported greater empowerment, group cohesion, and group effectiveness.

Homogeneity
If cohesion occurs when group members like one another and communicate effectively, it’s thus logical to put people who get along well into the same groups. Since social identity theory suggests that people prefer others who are members of their ingroups, we can conclude that group members who share personal characteristics will feel a sense of cohesion.

However, care must be taken in these situations to avoid groupthink. Groupthink occurs when members seek conformity and rush to consensus without exploring other possible solutions. Janis (1972) suggested several possible ways to prevent groupthink, such as designating one group member as the devil’s advocate and inviting outside experts to observe the group.

Use of humor
Greatbatch & Clark (2003) examined the lectures of “management gurus” and found that they used humor to build cohesion with their audiences. According to the authors, humor can perform many functions in a group setting. For instance, it allows group members to express dissent in socially acceptable ways. It also allows members to manage embarrassment by putting a misstep in a lighter context. Humor is often seen as a “social lubricant” (e.g. Maynard, 2007) that improves one’s ability to communicate, and this is certainly the case in task-oriented groups as well.

External threats
Group members will increase solidarity in the face of an external threat (Depret & Fiske, 1999; Dion, 1979; Harrison & Connors, 1984; Lanzetta, 1955; as cited in Kassin, Fein, and Markus, 2008). In such situations, social identity theory again becomes relevant; individuals may focus on the similarities between members of their own group and magnify the differences between them and the external threat (Kassin, Fein, and Markus, 2008)

Group size
Obviously, it’s easier for a small group to form consensus and communicate with one another than it is for a larger one. Therefore, it’s in a business or civic leader’s interest to keep groups as small as feasibly possible. However, managers must ensure there is still enough expertise amongst the group members to achieve the objective being presented; otherwise the effectiveness of the group will suffer.

References:

Greatbatch, D., & Clark, T. (2003). Displaying group cohesiveness: Humour and laughter in the public lectures of management gurus. Human Relations, 56(12), 1515-1544. doi:10.1177/00187267035612004

Janis, I. L. (1972). Victims of Groupthink. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Jung, D. I., & Sosik, J. J. (2002). Transformational Leadership in Work Groups: The Role of Empowerment, Cohesiveness, and Collective-Efficacy on Perceived Group Performance. Small Group Research, 33(3), 313-336. doi:10.1177/10496402033003002

Kassin, S., Fein, S., Markus, H. (2008). Social Psychology (7th Ed.) Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Maynard, S. K. (2007). Linguistic creativity in japanese discourse, exploring the multiplicity of self, perspective, and voice. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: John Benjamins Publishing Co.

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