Vitamin B And Memory Problems

The B group of vitamins are made up of eight specific types. This group of vitamins work together to support your metabolism, help your nervous system function properly and play a significant role in supporting brain functions. These vitamins are readily consumed from food sources in a well-balanced diet and deficiency syndromes related to the B vitamins are rare. However, in the event of poor vitamin absorption or conditions that alter proper metabolism of the B vitamins, your risk of memory impairments can increase.

Memory and the Brain

Memory is a complex set of brain processes involving areas of your brain that include the hippocampus, amygdala and prefrontal cortex. Each brain area is responsible for certain types of memory, like your initial perception of new information that is committed to short-term or long-term memory or the method your brain uses to encode or retrieve information. Numerous brain chemicals and connections are involved in the totem of memory with nutrition signifying an essential component to the smooth workings of the process. Vitamins B-1, B-6, B-9 and B-12 are at the forefront of nutrition and memory research. Possible deficiencies of these vitamins are linked to memory impairment.

Vitamin B-1

Thiamine, or vitamin B-1, deficiency is associated with the brain disorder Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. Individuals with chronic alcoholism are at risk for this disorder because of malnutrition related to excessive alcohol use. Memory impairment in this condition occurs in the dorsomedial hypothalamus, which is situated near the cortex and middle part of the brain. Anterograde amnesia, or the ability to create new memories, and retrograde amnesia, the inability to recall past events, and the invention of memories that did not actually happen, or confabulation, characterize the symptoms associated with thiamine deficiency. Memory loss in dementia is also associated with thiamine deficiency. In these medical conditions, thiamine is administered intravenously or as oral supplements by a physician. Protect your memory from thiamine deficiency with a diet that includes whole grains, legumes and poultry.

Vitamin B-6

Vitamin B-6 is important in the synthesis of the brain chemicals serotonin and dopamine. These chemicals communicate between brain systems to tell your body how to function, feel and in memory processing. This vitamin is also depleted in people with chronic alcoholism, which further increases the risk of memory impairment. Vitamin B-6 works with the other B vitamins to control levels of the amino acid called homocysteine. High homocysteine in your blood is associated with Alzheimer's disease and brain deterioration. You can get adequate vitamin B-6 in your diet from spinach, tuna, fortified grains and beans.

Vitamin B-9 and B-12

Folic acid, or vitamin B-9, and vitamin B-12 deficiencies are associated with the increased risk of memory impairment, especially in the elderly. Vitamin B-9 is essential for brain development and in the prevention of birth defects during pregnancy. A lack of adequate intake of vitamin B-9 may also increase your risk of cognitive deficits, according to a 2008 study in the "Journal of Neuroscience." Vitamin B-12 supplements improve memory decline in the elderly, notes MayoClinic.com, but research is ongoing for effectiveness of this vitamin in treating existing Alzheimer's related memory loss. The combination of vitamin B-6, B-9 and B-12 however, shows promise in preventing brain shrinkage associated with the cognitive deterioration of Alzheimer's. Vitamin B-9 occurs naturally in beans, citrus fruits and whole grains, and B-12 is abundant in fish and poultry.