Assignments

I. Memorize the following words and phrases:

circadian rhythm/ clock	добовий ритм/ годинник
digestive secretion	секреція, що сприяє травленню
to get out of sync	випадати з процесу синхронізації
responsive	чутливий, що легко реагує
exposure to light	інсоляція
jetlag	порушення добового ритму організму, порушення біоритмів у зв’язку з перельотом через декілька часових поясів
the crack of dawn	світанок
alertness	жвавість, спритність
suprachiasmatic nucleus	надхіазматичне ядро центральної нервової системи
retina	сітківка ока
carbohydrate	вуглевод
fibre	волокно, груба їжа

II. Suggest Ukrainian equivalents to the following words and phrases. Make your own sentences with them:

periodicity; blood pressure; hormone production; to regulate the daily fluctuation of many physiological and behavioural aspects in life; to reset on a molecular level; new time zone; intercontinental journey; time zone shift; to avoid blight light; personal variables; night own; lark; internal body clock; sleep-wake cycle; to regulate hormone levels; performance ability; adrenalin makes your body temperature rise and fall; light hits your eyelids; to switch off the sleep hormone; memory is at its best; to do some heavy exercise; weightlifting; to reduce stress; to feel tired; to get ready.

III. Find English equivalents to the following phrases:

відрегулювати на молекулярному рівні; підготуватися; здатність виконувати якусь роботу; зміна часових зон; уникати яскравого світла; сова; жайворонок.

IV. Make up a dialogue discussing the point:аt what time of the day do you usually feel tired ( hungry, relaxed alert worried)?

V .Answer the questions:

1. What do circadian clocks regulate?

2. How can you characterize «night owls»?

3. What can you say about «larks»?

4. What does the body clock control?

5. Would you tell about a day in the life of your body?

6. Why is it not advisable to eat too mach carbohydrate for breakfast?

7. What is an internal body clock determined by?

8. What are the sleep-wake cycles controlled by?

9. What functions do hormones like melatonin and adrenalin perform in human bodies?

7.2 Memory and brain. Text 1. Memory

In psychology, memory is an organism's mental ability to store, retain and recall information Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing the memory. The late nineteenth and early twentieth century put memory within the paradigms of cognitive psychology. In recent decades, it has become one of the principal pillars of a branch of science called cognitive neuroscience. an interdisciplinary link between cognitive psychology and neuroscience.

Many studies of brain aging look at a range of cognitive abilities, beyond memory alone. Cognition includes not only remembering and forgetting, but also abstract thinking, reasoning.

Types of Memory

You may hear people refer to two types of memory: short-term and long-term. Short term is memory of recent knowledge and happenings, while long-term memory helps us recall events and knowledge from our pasts.

Our brains also seem to have different, overlapping systems for the two primary types of memories:

• Explicit memories (also called declarative memories) are those you can recall consciously and describe verbally, such as facts, people, and places you encounter daily.

• Implicit memory (also called non-declarative memory) describes our capacity for learning skills and procedures, including those used when playing golf or dancing.

How Memory Changes

Have you ever walked into a room and forgotten what you went in for? Searched for keys that mysteriously disappeared? Or been unable to recall the name of someone you know?

These moments of forgetfulness happen to everyone. After all, remembering and forgetting are perfectly normal parts of everyday life.

But as we grow older, they can make us feel like we're losing our edge or even cause us to worry about Alzheimer's disease—the progressive dementia that affects four million Americans.

Memory consists of a series of processes that begin when we are exposed to new information. Our brains register, encode, and—in the right conditions—store this information for later use.

Many people experience changes in cognitive abilities (memory and other intellectual functions) as they age. But research shows that how big a change varies from person to person.

We, humans, are learning machines throughout life, and the brain is the engine that powers memory and learning.

Emotion can have a powerful impact on memory. Numerous studies have shown that the most vivid autobiographical memories tend to be of emotional events, which are likely to be recalled more often and with more clarity and detail than neutral events.

Disorders

Much of the current knowledge of memory has come from studying memory disorders. Loss of memory is known as amnesia. There are many sorts of amnesia, and by studying their different forms, it has become possible to observe apparent defects in individual sub-systems of the brain's memory systems, and thus hypothesize their function in the normally working brain. Other neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease can also affect memory and cognition. Hyperthymesia, or hyperthymesic syndrome, is a disorder which affects an individual's autobiographical memory, essentially meaning that they cannot forget small details that otherwise would not be stored. Korsakoff’s syndrome, also known as Korsakoff s psychosis, amnesic-confabulatory syndrome, is an organic brain disease that adversely affects memory.

While not a disorder, a common temporary failure of word retrieval from memory is the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon. Sufferers of Nominal Aphasia (also called Anomia), however, do experience the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon on an ongoing basis due to damage to the frontal and parietal lobes of the brain.

The best way to improve memory seems to be to increase the supply of oxygen to the brain, which may be accomplished with aerobic exercises; walking for three hours each week suffices. as does swimming or bicycle riding. One study found that chewing gum will supply the brain with enough oxygen to help memorize items simply because of the muscle movement.

The International Longevity Center released in 2001 a report which includes in pages 14-16 recommendations for keeping the mind in good functionality until advanced age. Some of the recommendations are to stay intellectually active through learning, training or reading, to keep physically active so to promote blood circulation to the brain, to socialize, to reduce stress, to keep sleep time regular, to avoid depression or emotional instability and to observe good nutrition.