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Study Reveals Brain Mechanism for Creating Durable Memories

posted by cmn32480 on Thursday October 29 2015, @04:46AM   
from the i-forget... dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

Rehearsing information immediately after being given it may be all you need to make it a permanent memory, a University of Sussex study suggests.

Psychologists found that the same area of the brain activated when laying down a memory is also activated when rehearsing that memory.

The findings, published on Oct. 27, 2015 in the Journal of Neuroscience, have implications for any situation in which accurate recall of an event is critical, such as witnessing an accident or crime.

The study showed that the brain region known as the posterior cingulate—an area whose damage is often seen in those with Alzheimer's—plays a crucial role in creating permanent memories.

This region not only helps us to recall the episodic details of an event but also integrates the memory into our knowledge and understanding, which makes it resistant to forgetting.

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Original Submission

• Proves many psychologists are quacks Proves many psychologists are quacks (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29 2015, @06:48AM

  by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29 2015, @06:48AM (#255914)

  Especially those who keep making people to relive a traumatic event over and over again immediately after the traumatic incident. This just makes them remember more stuff and more intensely. Ask them whether they want to remember the incident strongly or not, if they don't want to then make them do something else that's memory and thinking intensive for the whole day. Some people might actually want to remember (as a witness or so they can get revenge ;) ).
  
  Same for those psychologists who tell people to let their anger out as "catharsis". This just makes people better at getting angry. Most people get better at what they keep doing over and over again. It's called practice.
  
  What you need to do is get people to practice doing something else instead. For example if they have a traumatic thing they don't want to remember, have them practice thinking of something else instead.
  
  Similar for anger. Feeling angry can be normal, healthy and even useful in some scenarios, but too much anger or uncontrolled anger is counter productive. So if you want to manage your anger, you don't practice getting angry (by letting it out) or practice bottling it up (e.g. feeling very angry inside but look calm outside). What you do is practice calming yourself down whether through meditation or breathing in and out slowly and deeply or merely thinking "this is actually a small matter in the big picture so it shouldn't be making me feel so angry"[1]. Not practice "letting it out".
  
  [1] Of course if it actually is a big matter (someone killing your loved ones), then perhaps some anger is called for, but if it's just some waiter unintentionally getting your order wrong or some car ahead being a bit slow, lighten up!

• Re:Proves many psychologists are quacks (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29 2015, @09:00AM

  by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29 2015, @09:00AM (#255938)

  lighten up!

  I will strive to heed your advice... as soon as I get my portable laser working. And they called me mad! MAD!!!

  Parent