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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by river1924 on August 31, 2006, at 15:16:13
1- Lyrica... at 600 mgs spread thru out the day, I felt better but my memory was horrid. Now at 150 mg spread thoughout the day, my moods stay more stable... suicidal turns into "okay" within an hour but my memory is very unreliable. Actually, if I think about my recent behavior, it combines chatty spaciness and amnesia-like gaps.
2- Is there any point in having a brain scan (fMRI, MRI, PET, Spect) to see if there is damage to an area of my brain? It might make me a little less hard on myself. It also might encourage me to do things that might encourage "neuroplasticity."
3- http://www.psych.uic.edu/education/courses/behav_science1999/frontalsubcortical99/sld006.htm
Dorsolateral Syndrome: This covers my long range complaints. Anyone even know where the dorsolateral such and such is in the brain. Are there pictures online?
Sorry if this seems kinda pointless... I can be clearer but I just don't have the energy to be a "good writer.'
River.
Posted by Phillipa on August 31, 2006, at 21:43:13
In reply to Damaged memory * 3, posted by river1924 on August 31, 2006, at 15:16:13
River so you think high doses of lyrica did it? Love Phillipa
Posted by river1924 on September 1, 2006, at 1:14:01
In reply to Re: Damaged memory * 3 » river1924, posted by Phillipa on August 31, 2006, at 21:43:13
You mean damage my memory?
My memory is just bad. Lyrica just makes it worse. The drug did not cause this problem and when I stop lyrica, I regain my normal subpar abilities.
I read that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is involved with memory and when it doesn't function as well as an average person's, one has certain problems with goal setting and short term memory, etc. What really struck home about this definition I read (and now, of course, can't recall where) was that it simply validated my experience.
When this part of the brain isn't up to par, they think one's memories are disorganized. I can not write more than a few lines about most subjects in a coherent way. When asked to talk about myself, I can not think of anything. But this article said, people with problems in this area of the brain can take multiple choice tests and excel. That is the case with me. I absorb information easily and, when I was in school, I "knew" the right answer. But none of that same information could be barfed back if the teacher asked a general essay question.
My initial complaint to a psychologist in my late teens was my "memory." It was/is frustrating to know I have an intellectual capacity and not have access to it... people think I am underachiever and/or lazy. Each year of school increased my depression and college intensified my alienation with my peers because one needs to have some "thoughts." My "memory problem" makes meaningful connections with others hard. People think I am inhibited or not very bright or cold.
My Lyrica question is kinda separate from that. I was just curious if it affects others like this.
Peace,
River.
Posted by yxibow on September 1, 2006, at 4:55:51
In reply to Damaged memory * 3, posted by river1924 on August 31, 2006, at 15:16:13
> 1- Lyrica... at 600 mgs spread thru out the day, I felt better but my memory was horrid. Now at 150 mg spread thoughout the day, my moods stay more stable... suicidal turns into "okay" within an hour but my memory is very unreliable. Actually, if I think about my recent behavior, it combines chatty spaciness and amnesia-like gaps.
>
> 2- Is there any point in having a brain scan (fMRI, MRI, PET, Spect) to see if there is damage to an area of my brain? It might make me a little less hard on myself. It also might encourage me to do things that might encourage "neuroplasticity."
>
> 3- http://www.psych.uic.edu/education/courses/behav_science1999/frontalsubcortical99/sld006.htm
>
> Dorsolateral Syndrome: This covers my long range complaints. Anyone even know where the dorsolateral such and such is in the brain. Are there pictures online?
>
> Sorry if this seems kinda pointless... I can be clearer but I just don't have the energy to be a "good writer.'
>
> River.
fMRI/MRI/CAT/etc scans may or may not show extreme "damage" to the brain but there are a lot of things that cannot yet be shown at the current functional level of machinery. They're also terribly expensive even with insurance and are normally used more as research tools than as diagnoses of cognitive dysfunction, unless there is indication of possible other complications like lesions, strokes, and to rule out cancerous tissue.
Nonetheless there are research studies, I can't post an example journal as it requires access, but for example,Brain: Oxford University Press, 2005 128(9):1964-1983 "Region-specific changes in prefrontal function with age: a review of PET and fMRI studies on working and episodic memory"
This is the end of the thread.
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