Brain Gum. Senior Moment. Brain Lightning. Brainworks. Deep Thought.

Those are among hundreds of herbal remedies and dietary supplements that baby boomers are snapping up to the tune of $450 million a year in a desperate hunt for what some experts call "brain Viagra" that might put some oomph back into their flagging memories.

Boomers also are buying memory-aid books - lots of them. Amazon.com alone carries some 30,000 tomes with "memory" or "brain" in the title, and the list is growing daily. And many are flooding the offices of their family doctors, armed with notepads full of questions about memory loss they're experiencing and asking about potential remedies.

"Boomers possess a very strong 'forever young' core value," says Chuck Underwood, 56, of Cincinnati, a national expert on the 77 million people born between 1946 and 1964. "The boomers will always fight the aging process as best they can. So the first sign of memory problems will create instant demand for knowledge and ways to minimize it."

Mostly their fears are unwarranted; just because you have a "senior moment," it doesn't indicate there's anything neurologically wrong. And just because you're inundated with a marketing blitz pushing memory-enhancing drugs, it doesn't mean you need them.

"The consumer marketing can create real paranoia," said Dr. Marc Seltman, a longtime Atlanta internist who has seen many of his patients turn from young whippersnappers in their 30s to folks in their 50s and up. "If you have concerns after 50 about your memory, tell your doctor, but you need to know there's almost certainly no reason for panic."

He and other experts concur that people start experiencing memory lapses around age 40 that worsen throughout the rest of their lives.

However, doctors say boomers who fall in certain categories should be careful. As many up their intake of prescription medications, there can be legitimate concerns about how those medications might be affecting their brain.

But because it's hard to determine what to be concerned about and what to ignore, it doesn't take long for boomers to move from questions about high blood pressure and cholesterol to asking their doctors about their memory lapses and wondering if anything's wrong, says Dr. Sandra Fryhofer, an Atlanta internist and past president of the American College of Physicians.

People like Brenda Jones Lewis, 58, of Decatur, who's asked her doctors whether it's normal to sometimes call friends and not remember what she'd wanted to say. Or LaVerne Arther, 56, of College Park, who carries a notebook to jog her memory but often forgets to take it with her. Both of their doctors have told them not to be alarmed.

"A lot of the questions come from people whose parents have Alzheimer's or who have other relatives or friends with relatives who have Alzheimer's," Seltman says. "Everyone's just more aware."

That awareness is driving more research studies on the subject. At Emory University alone, scientists are involved in 11 studies related to memory loss, normal aging, mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's, and more than 20 percent of participants are baby boomers. Many other major medical universities also are conducting studies about memory loss and Alzheimer's, rarely diagnosed before age 75.

The FDA has approved five drugs to treat Alzheimer's, but even the Alzheimer's Association says there's no evidence that any of them impact the course of the disease. Dr. Allan Levey, chair of neurology at Emory University and one of the nation's leading experts on Alzheimer's, said one drug that's heavily advertized on TV, Aricept, may help slow down the disease if taken in early stages. But the evidence, he said, isn't conclusive.

As for herbal remedies, Niles Frantz, a spokesman for the Alzheimer's Association, said "there is no reason to believe that any of that stuff helps people with memory problems."

Several scientific studies have found herbal remedies to have little to no positive effect.

The Alzheimer's Association recommends that boomers take common sense steps to hone their memories, such as staying fit, eating properly, avoiding alcohol except in moderation, stopping smoking and eating more antioxidant-rich foods.

And while Alzheimer's is a serious public health concern, it shouldn't be for boomers, Levey said.

He said one reason so many boomers are noticing memory lapses is that millions are taking prescription drugs for depression, anxiety, obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, cholesterol and many other afflictions of aging. And all drugs, he said, have side effects, some mostly on the brain. Patients should consult their physicians to see if the drugs they're using might be affecting their memory.

And few boomers get enough sleep, often due to stress, he said. Both increase forgetfulness.

"A lot of times, its just that people are busy," Fryhofer said. "Even people in their 40s have children going in all directions, elderly parents we have to look after, and there's a lot to remember. If you add that to the technology people have to learn, it's no wonder so many feel they are losing it."

Some brainy udeas

Here are tips for people worried about their "senior moments."

• Remember, good health starts with your brain. It needs care and maintenance. Play crossword puzzles. Read. Write.
• Do something every day to prevent heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke, which can affect memory.
• Keep your body weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels within recommended ranges.
• Feed your brain; eat less fat and more antioxidant-rich foods.
• Physical exercise keeps the blood flowing and may encourage new brain cells. Do what you can - like walking 30 minutes a day - to keep both body and mind active.
• Connect with others. Leisure activities that combine physical, mental and social elements may be most likely to prevent dementia. Be social, converse, volunteer, join a club or take a class.