Etiket: #cognition

  Alzheimer’s disease is usually associated with memory loss, but the scientific picture is much broader. Attention, language, mood, behaviour, orientation, decision-making and the ability to manage everyday activities can also be affected as cognitive decline progresses. This is why researchers studying plants such as Rosa damascena are interested in more than a single question about memory. Damask rose has now been investigated from several scientific directions. A small controlled human study examined Rosa damascena extract in people with dementia. Experimental Alzheimer-related studies have investigated learning and long-term memory. More recent research has examined Rosa damascena essential oil in relation to the cholinergic system and BDNF—two areas of considerable interest in neuroscience. Taken together, these studies raise an intriguing question: Why does Rosa damascena continue to appear in research on cognitive decline, and what have scientists actually found? This article looks specifically at Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and cognitive research. For the broader science of rose scent, memory, gray matter and olfactory research,...