Memory

Analysis and Comment (11)

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Our brains are reorganising even when we don’t physically mimic movements. conmike12

We watch and learn the moves – even when we’re immobile

By Martin Sale

It may seem somewhat intuitive, but learning through observation is one of the most potent ways humans learn a new skill. We see someone moving in a certain way and we copy it. But what happens when the…
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Are there things you’d rather not remember? Megyarsh

Going, going, gone: the where and why of memory erasure

By Jee Hyun Kim, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health

If you could erase your memories, which ones would you choose? As a neuroscientist, one of my raisons d’etre is to achieve, in a way, some form of memory erasure, especially for individuals that suffer…
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“Wait a minute. I’ve been here before …” PhotoJonny/Flickr

Explainer: what is déjà vu and why does it happen?

By Amy Reichelt

Have you ever experienced a sudden feeling of familiarity while in a completely new place? Or the feeling you’ve had the exact same conversation with someone before? This feeling of familiarity is, of…
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How do you remember where you’ve been if you don’t have a brain? Tanya Latty

The brainless slime mould that remembers where it’s been

By Chris Reid

We humans use our large brains to make and store maps of our environment; maps we then use everyday for getting around and for recalling where we’ve been. But we are nothing special – many other animals…
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Getting rid of negative memories is increasingly within our grasp. taylor.a

Remembering to forget: how to erase unwanted memories

By Amy Reichelt

Memories influence our behaviour for better or worse. A traumatic incident, experienced once, can darken our lives for ever more. Drug or alcohol addiction – driven by remembered rewards – can render…
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We all know the past disappears. FotoRita [Allstar maniac]

Explainer: what is forgetting?

By Jee Hyun Kim, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health

If memory can be defined as “a past that becomes a part of me”, can forgetting be defined as “a past that is no longer a part of me”? Smokers who have abstained for years may not consciously be able to…
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Did you forget to lock the door, or just forget to pay proper attention? jef safi \ 'pictosophizing

Explainer: what is memory?

By Jee Hyun Kim, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health

Memory is difficult to define without being circular. People often define memory as “something you can remember”. But we cannot deny the existence of a memory when there is no recollection. Sigmund Freud…
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Brain scan technology is finding that some parts of the brain respond more strongly to colour than others. Flickr/dpi

Perceiving colour involves more than meets the eye

By Colin Clifford and Erin Goddard

For more than 200 years, scientists have known the range of colours we can see means there must be three different types of light-responsive cells in our eyes. These three types of cell, along with the…
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Trouble holding on to your memories? A bad night’s kip might be to blame. planetchopstick/Flickr

To sleep, perchance to learn

By Russell Conduit, Monash University

So here it is, another morning. Another day of yawns. Another day of … oh … what was I saying? We all know that if you don’t get a good night’s sleep, you don’t function properly during the day. It could…

Research and News (3)

Research Briefs (15)

Caffeine gives bees the buzz too

Newcastle University

Honeybees may have an advantage over other pollinators – caffeine improves performance. The findings, from Newcastle University…

Don’t forget Facebook

University of Warwick (UK)

Chatty updates on Facebook are easier to remember than carefully-worded sentences. Researchers from the University of Warwick…

Synchronised brain waves hold visual memory

Montana State University, Florida Atlantic University

The brain encodes short-term visual memory with in-sync electrical neural oscillations. Neuroscientists have observed how…

Omega-3 may improve brain function

University of Pittsburgh

Healthy young adults could boost their cognitive function and working memory by increasing their intake of omega-3 fatty…

Musical brains delay cognitive ageing

Emory University

Musical instrumental training at a young age may reduce the effects of memory decline and cognitive ageing. A range of cognitive…

No single seat of memory

Cortex

In a case study published in the September 2011 issue Cortex, clinical neuropsychologists have reported that a child can…

Participants (62)