How Memory Works

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Repetition is behind our improved memory for emotional events

A new study concludes that positive events tend to be remembered better than negative, but the more important finding is that being repeatedly reminded of the event is the main factor behind improved memory for emotional experiences.

Certainly experiences that arouse emotions are remembered better than ones that have no emotional connection, but whether negative or positive memories are remembered best is a question that has produced equivocal results.
Memory genes vary in protecting against age-related cognitive decline

New findings show the T variant of the KIBRA gene improves episodic memory through its effect on hippocampal activity. Another study finds the met variant of the BDNF gene is linked to greater age-related cognitive decline.

Previous research has found that carriers of the so-called

Another challenge to idea that men are better at spatial thinking

A cross-cultural study finds a significant gender difference on a simple puzzle problem for one culture but no gender difference for another. The difference was only partly explained by education.

Here’s an intriguing approach to the long-standing debate about gender differences in spatial thinking. The study involved 1,279 adults from two cultural groups in India. One of these groups was patrilineal, the other matrilineal.
Brain flexibility predicts learning speed

New analytic techniques reveal that functional brain networks are more fluid than we thought.

A new perspective on learning comes from a study in which 18 volunteers had to push a series of buttons as fast as possible, developing their skill over three sessions. New analytical techniques were then used to see which regions of the brain were active at the same time.
New insight into insight, and the role of the amygdala in memory

A new study suggests that one-off learning (that needs no repetition) occurs because the amygdala, center of emotion in the brain, judges the information valuable.

Most memory research has concerned itself with learning over time, but many memories, of course, become fixed in our mind after only one experience. The mechanism by which we acquire knowledge from single events is not well understood, but a new study sheds some light on it.
Working memory has more layers than thought

A new study provides further support for a three-tier model of working memory, where the core only holds one item, the next layer holds up to three, and further items can be passively held ready.

Readers of my books and articles will know that

Sleep reorganizes your memories

New studies show how sleep sculpts your memories, emphasizing what’s important and connecting it to other memories in your brain.

The role of sleep in consolidating memory is now well-established, but recent research suggests that sleep also reorganizes memories, picking out the emotional details and reconfiguring the memories to help you produce new and creative ideas.
Distinguishing between working memory and long-term memory

A study with four brain-damaged people challenges the idea that the hippocampus is the hub of spatial and relational processing for short-term as well as long-term memory.

Because people with damage to their

Individual differences in ability to gauge your own accuracy

Differences in the size and connectivity of a region in the prefrontal cortex underlie how accurate people are in judging their own performance.

Metamemory or metacognition — your ability to monitor your own cognitive processes — is central to efficient and effective learning.
Link between brain acid and cognition offers hope for an effective ‘smart’ pill

Experiments with mice have found that inhibiting the production of kynurenic acid in the brain has dramatic benefits for cognitive performance.

Commercial use is a long way off, but research with mice offers hope for a ‘smart drug’ that doesn’t have the sort of nasty side-effects that, for example, amphetamines have.

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