Memory

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Have you ever thought about how much effort it takes our brains to store memories? There are three processes involved in remembering memory is a cognitive process that includes encoding, storage, and retrieval of the information ( Wood, Wood, & Boyd, 2006, p.170) Although, memory is a natural process there or many chemicals or substances that can help or hinder our memory.

The first process, encoding, is the transformation of information into a form that can be stored. For example, if you witness a car accident, you might try to remember it. The second process, storage, involves keeping or maintaining information. For encoded information to be stored, some physiological change must take place in the brain a process called consolidation. The final process, retrieval, occurs when information, store then retrieve it (Wood, Wood, &

Boyd, 2006, p. 170).

There are many different substance that can hurt your memory process. For example, alcohol and marijuana. Alcohol is a substance that is consumed by mouth. Marijuana is a substance that is generally smoked.

Alcohol often means ethanol, also called grain alcohol. Sometimes it means any beverage containing alcohol. In chemistry, alcohol is a more general word. It is any organic compound that is included hydroxyl group; also called hydroxide. It is bound to a carbon atom, which in turn is bound to other hydrogen and/or carbon atoms ("Alcohol,"2007).

Marijuana , also called Cannabis, is a plant. The cannabis plant's leaves and flowers have a chemical or drug known as THC, short for tetra-hydro-cannabinol, that gives smokes or eats the plant a feeling of euphoria. Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in the United States.

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The two main types of cannabis used as a drug are marijuana and hashish. Marijuana is the dried leaves of the cannabis plant. The stems, twigs, flower, and seeds are usually separated and not smoked, since they contain only tiny amounts of THC. Marijuana is smoked in a cigarette paper, a pipe, or a water filtered device known as a bond. Some people also eat marijuana ("Marijuana,"2007).

Cognitive abilities are affected by even small amounts of alcohol. Alcohol affects many parts of the brain, but the most vulnerable cells are those associated with memory. Alcohol impairs memory by inhibiting the transfer and consolidation of information in long-term memory--so alcohol reduces our ability to remember information that we have learned prior ro going out for drinks. Cognitive abilities are affected for a substantial period of time after the acute effects of alcohol impairment disappear. With long-term use alcohol may damage the connection between nerve cells and cause irreversible brain damage, including memory loss and personality changes ("Alcohol Effects," 2007).

Long- term marijuana use cause memory, speed of thinking and other cognitive abilities get worse over time, but cognitive abilities are also affected in short-term pot smokers who use marijuana frequently. Researchers studying heavy marijuana users (four or more joints per

week) in Greece found that frequent marijuana users performed worse than non-users on test \

of cognitive abilities. Those who had smoked for more than 10 years had more problems with their thinking abilities than those who had used for five to 10 years.

"We found that the longer people used marijuana, the more deterioration they had in these cognitive abilities, especially in the ability to learn and remember new information," said study author Lambros Messinis, PhD, of the Department of Neurology of the University Hospital

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of Patras in Patras, Greece.

"In several areas, their abilities were significant enough to be considered impaired, with more impairment in the longer-term users than the shorter-term users."

The researchers made the following observations:

Compared to non-smokers, marijuana users performed worse in recall, recognition and executive functions of the brain. In making decisions, long-term users show a 70 percent

impaired performance, compared to 55 percent for short-term users and eight percent