Abstract Background Repeated rehearsal is one method by which verbal material may be transferred from short- to long-term memory.We hypothesised that extended engagement of memory structures through prolonged rehearsal would result in enhanced efficacy of recall and also of brain structures implicated in new learning.Twenty-four normal participants aged 55-70 (mean = 60.1) engaged in six weeks of rote learning, during which they learned 500 words per SAM-E week every week (prose, poetry etc.
).An extensive battery of memory tests was administered on three occasions, each six weeks apart.In addition, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) was used to measure metabolite levels in seven voxels of interest (VOIs) (including hippocampus) before and after learning.Results Results indicate a facilitation of new learning that Sold Out was evident six weeks after rote learning ceased.
This facilitation occurred for verbal/episodic material only, and was mirrored by a metabolic change in left posterior hippocampus, specifically an increase in NAA/(Cr+Cho) ratio.Conclusion Results suggest that repeated activation of memory structures facilitates anamnesis and may promote neuronal plasticity in the ageing brain, and that compliance is a key factor in such facilitation as the effect was confined to those who engaged fully with the training.