'Imagination' helps older people remember to comply with medical advice
[4 June 2004 - NIH/National Institute on Aging] A healthy dose of "imagination" helps older people remember to take medications and follow other medical advice, according to a new study supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), a part of the National Institutes of Health. Researchers found older adults who spent a few minutes picturing how they would test their blood sugar were 50 percent more likely to actually do these tests on a regular basis than those who used other memory techniques. The findings by Linda Liu, Ph.D., of the University of Michigan, and Denise Park, Ph.D., of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, appear in the June 2004 issue of Psychology and Aging. The researchers are part of the CACHET Center at the University of Michigan and the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Illinois. Both are NIA-supported Roybal Centers for Applied Gerontological Research, which focus on research of immediate clinical value. ...

Visualizing task aids memory, study finds
[13 June 2004 - Indianapolis Star] A healthy dose of "imagination" helps older people remember to take medications and follow other medical advice, according to a new study supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), a part of the National Institutes of Health. Researchers found that adults over 60 who spent a few minutes picturing how they would test their blood sugar were 50 percent more likely to actually do these tests regularly than those who used other memory techniques. The findings by Dr. Linda Liu, of the University of Michigan, and Dr. Denise Park, of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, appear in the June issue of Psychology and Aging. ...