AUSTIN: Researchers published a new study this week on the cognitive effects of Alzheimer’s disease and other deteriorative brain disorders, finding conclusive evidence that dementia sufferers’ fondest memories are nearly always the first to go.
The five-year study, which followed a group of nearly 3,000 individuals diagnosed with dementia, found that as neurons and dendritic connections in the cerebral cortex are degraded by the disease, patients’ most positive recollections—such as falling in love for the first time or the overwhelming, indescribable joy of holding one’s firstborn child just moments after their birth—are eradicated much more rapidly than other types of memories…