Mind, features and articles | Educational Science

Apr 13, 2018

Too Much Sitting May Shrink the Part of Your Brain Tied to Memory

It may be time to ditch the desk chair: A new study links sitting too much each day with memory problems in middle-age and older adults. Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) found that long stretches of sedentary behavior — like spending all day in your desk...

May 2, 2018

Naps Can Make Our Brains 'Remember' Things That Never Happened

Our memory is imperfect: We remember some moments but lose others like a problematic tape recorder. Sometimes, we even remember things that never happened — a phenomenon that researchers call false memory (and a reason why eyewitness testimonies can be misleading). But where do these false memories come from? Previous...

Jun 15, 2018

Your Gut Remembers Where You Had a Good Meal

Your brain forms new memories all the time — and your gut might help that happen. The gut-brain connection is mostly known for its role in controlling the amount of food we eat, with the gut signaling to the brain when we've had enough. But a new study published June...

Jul 19, 2018

Your Earliest Memory Probably Never Happened

What is your first memory? A vivid scene may come to mind, seen from toddler eyes. Unfortunately, that scene may be a work of fiction, a new study finds. That's because scientific literature suggests that it's not possible to have a memory from before the age of 2, said lead...

Aug 14, 2018

DARPA Wants to Zap Your Brain to Boost Your Memory

We may go to sleep at night, but our brains don't. Instead, they spend those quiet hours tidying up, and one of their chores is to lug memories into long-term storage boxes. Now, a group of scientists may have found a way to give that memory-storing process a boost, by...

Sep 27, 2018

How Reliable Are the Memories of Sexual Assault Victims?

Editorial note: If Jim Hopper had been permitted to provide his expert testimony at the September 27, 2018 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation, these would have been his remarks. Incomplete memories of sexual assault, including those with huge gaps, are understandable — if we learn the basics...

Jan 24, 2019

Could 'Memory-Erasing' Implants Help Prevent Drug Relapses? It Worked for These Rats.

When Ivan Pavlov's dog heard the ding of a bell, the pup started salivating in anticipation of his dinner. When professor Mary Torregrossa's rats heard a similar tone, they craved cocaine. At least, some of them did — before Torregrossa and her colleagues rewrote their memories. Torregrossa studies the psychology...

Mar 20, 2019

A Dose of Anesthesia Could Blunt Traumatic Memories

A dose of anesthesia could take the edge off emotional memories, a new small study suggests. People who were immediately sedated after remembering an emotional story had fuzzier memories of the emotional portions of the story 24 hours later, according to the study, published today (March 20) in the journal...

Jun 5, 2019

Why'd I Come in Here? A Brain Zap Could Boost That Fuzzy Memory

Fuzzy memories can be frustrating, whether you're at the grocery store trying to recall if you finished the last bit of milk or in court giving eye-witness testimony. Now, a new study finds that zapping the brain might boost that memory. After receiving stimulation in a certain part of the...

Dec 8, 2019

Why Do Smells Trigger Strong Memories?

The delicious scent of baking bread wafting out from the open doors of a nearby bakery can act like a time portal, instantly sweeping you from a busy street in New York to a tiny cafe in Paris that you visited years ago. Scent particles, in general, can revive memories...

Feb 22, 2021

This gooey, brainless blob can store memories

A neon-yellow slime mold can store memories, even though it lacks a nervous system. Now, scientists have found a new clue as to how the brainless blob manages this impressive feat. The single-cell organism, known as Physarum polycephalum, belongs to the taxonomic group Amoebozoa, the same group as amoebas, Live...

Mar 5, 2021

Sherlock Holmes' famous memory trick really works

Sherlock Holmes remembers everything by imagining that he's storing bits of information in a memory palace, a technique that originated in ancient Greece. Now, researchers have found that this method really does work to create long-lasting memories. Users of the mnemonic technique, called the method of loci, mentally navigate around...

Mar 10, 2021

Your brain warps your memories so you can remember them better

Like a fisherman talking about the size of the one that got away, the brain exaggerates its memories. This exaggeration is in the service of good, however. New research finds that when people exaggerate the differences between similar memories, they recall them better. The findings could help explain why memory...

May 28, 2021

Aboriginal memory technique may work better than Sherlock's 'memory palace'

An ancient memory technique developed by Aboriginal Australians may work better than the mind palace invented in ancient Greece and popularized by the BBC version of Sherlock Holmes. Both methods involve mentally attaching information to a physical object or location, but the Aboriginal technique adds a storytelling component. Researchers aren't...

Nov 8, 2004

Where Dreams Are Made, Really

Analyzed as portents of the future and windows to the subconscious, dreams have fascinated human beings since the dawn of recorded history. Their purpose, from a strictly cognitive point of view, remains a puzzle. But a rare instance of dream loss in a patient with localized brain damage may pinpoint...