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posted by martyb on Friday September 09 2016, @11:12AM   Printer-friendly
from the gotta-remember-this-one dept.

Imagine if playing a new video game or riding a rollercoaster could help you prepare for an exam or remember other critical information.

A new study in mice shows this link may be possible.

Attention-grabbing experiences trigger the release of memory-enhancing chemicals. Those chemicals can etch memories into the brain that occur just before or soon after the experience, regardless of whether they were related to the event, according to researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center's Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute.

The findings, published in Nature, hold intriguing implications for methods of learning in classrooms as well as an array of potential uses in the workplace and personal life, researchers said.

The trick to creating long-lasting memories is to find something interesting enough to activate the release of dopamine from the brain's locus coeruleus (LC) region.

The authors of the study suggest that the critical dopamine release that aids retention could be triggered by behavioral changes or pharmacologically via agents like amphetamines.

An abstract, Locus coeruleus and dopaminergic consolidation of everyday memory is available.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 09 2016, @07:53PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 09 2016, @07:53PM (#399769)

    I never understood until now why nobody ever remembers my name. Sigh.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 10 2016, @01:31AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 10 2016, @01:31AM (#399875)

    Because you don't bring them to orgasm?