Illustration by Michael Hoeweler (Source: Bernard Weil/Toronto Star via Getty Images); Background: Getty Images
In this featured author talk, recorded June 8, 2021, Sarah Lock, senior vice president for policy and brain health at AARP and executive director of the Global Council on Brain Health, talks with Genova about how we remember and ways we can improve our memories. Video run time is 43 minutes.
Note: Since this video is a previously recorded live event, references to tech support and live chat are not applicable.
Forget Where You Put the Keys? Don’t Worry!
Neuroscientist and author Lisa Genova discusses her new bestseller, 'Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting'
I forgot where I parked the car. Should I worry? I walk into a room and forget why. Do I have Alzheimer’s?
As a neuroscientist and author of Still Alice, Lisa Genova is often asked these questions.
“I’ve been talking about Alzheimer’s and memory for over a decade, using Still Alice as the vehicle for conversation,” she says. And given her expertise in brain health, it’s not surprising people readily share with her their concerns.
“While the conversation always started with Alzheimer’s, it would migrate eventually over to questions about memory and forgetting that weren’t really questions about Alzheimer’s, but people didn’t know that,” she says.
Genova says this is a typical fear after we turn 40. In our 20s and 30s, we probably weren’t paying as close attention to our memory issues but in our 40s, we fear that all forgetting is a sign of Alzheimer’s. But this is simply not true, she notes: “These moments of forgetting are so 100 percent normal and they do occur regularly, every day.”
Check Out Other AARP Author Conversations
This featured video is part of AARP’s Virtual Community Center, where you can find a variety of free virtual events designed for self-learning, self-improvement and fun.
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