Page 122 - Mind Games The Aging Brain and How to Keep it Healthy

106 • Chapter 4

Chronological search Retrace your steps in time in
order to locate the moment
when you last used the fact.
Event search What were you doing when
you used the information?
Visual search Try to see the paper on which
the words were written.
People search Recall the people with whom
you used the information.
What did they say or do or
look like?
Increased stimulus search Keep listening to the request
or ask for more information.
This one is hard to under-
stand at first, but it is one of
the most powerful.

Let’s look at one example of how the increased stimulus
search works. Consider this exchange:

Jane: You remember Janet, don’t you?

Annette: No.
Jane: Sure you do. We met her while we were
together.
Annette: No, but keep talking to see if you can jog my
memory.
Jane: OK, we were at the Red Cross luncheon last
month, and she sat across the table from us.
She had on that red hat that we both liked so
much.
Annette: That’s it! I remember the hat. Now I remem-
ber who Janet is. She recently moved into
that new condo in our neighborhood. In fact,
I remember liking her very much. Thanks for
the help.