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MEMORIES ARE MADE OF...  Ever wish you had a better memory? The Seattle Post-Intelligencer published the story of a woman who, given a date, can tell what day of the week it was; exactly and in great detail what she did that day; and what was going on in the world. MRIs show that more than two dozen areas of her brain are larger than normal, says the article. A sidebar includes an interview with an expert on memory and recent research findings on the topic, such as the positive affect of aerobic exercise on memory. Separately, researchers at the University of Michigan have found that brain training exercises can influence "fluid" intelligence, the type of intelligence that applies to all types of problems as opposed to skills used for specific tasks.
 
HIGH SCHOOL ACHIEVERS. Toyota announced scholarship awards totaling $1 million to 100 high school seniors who were leaders in the classroom and in the community. One Toyota Community Scholar raised $120,000 for the American Cancer Society; another collected over 3,000 pounds of food to distribute to those who needed it. Find out more about the awards and the kids.
 
WHAT BOYS' CRISIS? Seeking to debunk the so-called "boys' crisis" in education, the American Association of University Women issued an analysis of trends in educational achievement by gender, race, ethnicity, and income. The analysis indicates that factors such as family income are more closely associated with academic success than gender, says the association. The analysis portrays educational achievement not as a zero-sum game, where one group gains at the expense of others, but as an arrangement where everyone can improve achievement. Noting that differences in educational achievement also vary by ethnicity, the association said that while girls often outperform boys within each racial/ethnic group on the NAEP reading test, the gender gap was most consistent among white students as opposed to African-American students or Hispanic students. Find the press release and report.

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YOUR DEPRESSED CHILD IS NOT ALONE. According to statistics from a survey by a unit of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in 2006 about 13 percent of young people aged 12 to 17 reported having at least one major depressive episode in their lifetime; 8 percent reported one during the year prior to the survey. Rates are much higher for females (12 to 13 percent) than males (around 4 percent). Survey results also indicated that depressed young people were more likely to report the use of illicit drugs, tobacco, and alcohol. Find the report. (See pages 91-93.)
 
OUR MEDS. In North Carolina, the News & Observer reported on trials of a new/old drug to treat the symptoms of AD/HD. The two-times-a-day drug is called Clonicel and is a variation of clonidine, used for decades to treat high blood pressure by acting on the body's production of adrenaline. Read the article. Time Magazine noted that American children take anti-psychotics at a much higher rate than UK kids, and that use is rising in both countries. Of concern, pointed out the article, is that there is little long-term evidence that drugs such as Risperdal are safe for children. Read Time's article. Finally, The Economist reported on research into drugs to improve memory, concentration, and learning. The article cited predictions that a large number of cognition-enhancing drugs are likely to emerge over the next few decades. Read it.
 
EEG, MRI, FOR AD/HD? ABC News reported on a doctor at the Bright Minds Institute in San Francisco who uses brain measurement and imaging techniques to help diagnose young patients with cognitive problems. For example, using electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the doctor found that a nine-year-old boy with a speech problem and an IQ of 138 had an auditory processing issue and AD/HD; the boy's life has turned around. The report also says, however, that many doctors feel "the technology is not there yet" to make such diagnoses. Read about the Institute's work with this child and others. 

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OTHER STORIES. See our Del.icio.us site for news items we've saved recently on specific topics such as giftedness, gifted education, AD/HD, autism spectrum disorders, bipolar disorder, depression, etc. 

Note: Some of these news items came to our attention through ScienceDaily, EdNews.org, Education Week, CEC SmartBriefs, and other aggregators.