mething that had just happened. But it did increase her already tenacious commitment to Alzheimer’s research. Just as she was fascinated as a student “by the fact that a brain—that is just tissue, it’s cells and blood, and some connective tissue—has the ability to create such an incredible thing as a human being: cognition, our thinking, our feeling, everything that is associated with being human,” Dr. Carrillo remains fascinated by all that scientists are learning about how the brain works, and why it sometimes doesn’t work, and what she and her colleagues can do about that.
More on Alzheimer’s Studies
The kind of lifestyle changes on which the FINGER and US POINTER studies are focused have long been gaining traction in the Pacific Northwest. Launched in 2013 (and featured in 3rd Act in 2016), Momentia Seattle is a one-stop source for people with dementia and their families to find ways to remain active and connected to the community. (Their website is currently chock-full of virtual offerings.) Momentia was one of several organizations and individuals recently honored with a 2020 Maude Award for innovations in Alzheimer’s care.
In Portland, Dr. Raina Croff is leading the SHARP study: Sharing History through Active Reminiscence and Photo-Imagery, which is funded in part by the Alzheimer’s Association. Working with the PreSERVE Coalition for African American Memory and Brain Health, Dr. Croff and her team accompany older Black adults on vigorous walks focused on “active reminiscence” of their changing neighborhoods. Photos and news clippings are deployed to help them remember what was there before.
“We documented that the combination of vigorous walks and active reminiscence correlated with more energy, improved mood and modest improvement in cognitive assessments, particularly among those with mild cognitive impairment,” Dr. Croff, an assistant professor of neurology and medical anthropologist at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) School of Medicine, wrote in a recent article. “SHARP walkers are not only reclaiming their history, they are claiming their place in the present by telling a more accurate and far richer story of the past.”
Ann Hedreen is an author (Her Beautiful Brain), teacher of memoir writing, and filmmaker. Ann and her husband, Rustin Thompson, own White Noise Productions and have made more than 150 short films and several feature documentaries together, including Quick Brown Fox: An Alzheimer’s Story. Ann recently completed a second memoir, After Ecstasy: Memoir of an Observant Doubter.