Memory-boosting via Multivitamins?

Image credit: Hiroshi Watanabe/Getty

Multivitamins help prevent memory loss (start time: 8:02) In this week’s  show, How On Earth host/producer Susan Moran interviews Dr. Adam Brickman, a neuropsychologist at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, about a large new study that shows how taking multivitamins can prevent memory loss in older adults. Memory decline is an inevitable, if cruel, component of aging. And there’s been much debate about what interventions can arrest the pace of memory loss. The new study, which Dr. Brickman co-authored, replicated results of a previous study that he led; both found that people age 60 and older who take multivitamin supplements daily can stave off normal age-related memory loss. (The study does not apply to people with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia.)

Hosts: Susan Moran, Joel Parker
Producer: Susan Moran
Engineer: Joel Parker
Executive Producer: Shelley Schlender

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Music on the Brain

Your Brain on Music (start time: 6:18): Most people love music, whether it’s opera music, jazz, rock-n-roll, gospel, nursery rhymes or another genre. Whether you’re a trained professional or someone who just likes to sing in the shower or listen to your favorite playlists, you’ve likely felt the power of music in shaping your thoughts, feelings and behavior. But how?
Many scientists have been researching how music affects the human brain, and how music can help treat many neurological and other disorders. Today, host Susan Moran interviews Indre  Viskontas, a cognitive neuroscientist and associate professor of psychology at the University of San Francisco. She’s also a classically trained opera singer and a director. Her 2019 book is How Music Can Make You Better.  And Dr. Viskontas also directs communications for the Sound Health Network, an initiative that promotes research and public awareness of the impact of music on health and well-being. She also hosts a podcast called Inquiring Minds.

Host, Producer: Susan Moran
Engineer: Shannon Young
Executive Producer: Beth Bennett

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