Making tea is not a piece of cake April 27, 2010

Jennifer Rusted, Professor of Experimental Psychology, School of Psychology

Part of the series: Professorial Lecture
"The apparently effortless way that we complete everyday tasks, such as making that morning cup of tea, belies the multiplicity of memory processes that are required for those activities. Their execution requires a complex interplay of memory and attention to achieve the necessary cognitive flexibility and goal-directed focus. With age, these processes become increasingly likely to fail.

Professor Rusted’s research explores the brain systems that support memory for everyday tasks. In this lecture, she presents studies that examine what goes wrong as we get older, and why for some these tasks are increasingly difficult to perform; she considers the potential for treating declining performance in everyday jobs by modifying neurochemical signalling in the brain; and she describes recent work examining the consequences of carrying a gene associated with memory impairment in later life, and the possibility that an individual’s genetic signature may influence the scope for treatment. This research could help develop new ways to remedy those deficits in memory that naturally emerge across the lifespan, improving well-being and independent living in older adulthood."

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