New research suggests people’s cognitive abilities are affected by the seasons.
Brain scans show that people’s short-term memory is generally best in fall (autumn) and worst in spring.
In mid-December, though, people’s attention skills are at their lowest ebb.
Attention doesn’t come up to full strength until June.
Dr Gilles Vandewalle, one of the study’s authors, said that the causes are likely down to multiple factors, but:
“…we may be tuned to lower brain activity in winter, and that could cause changes in brain activity.
But in modern society we are similarly active throughout the year.”
It could also be that people who experience seasonally affected disorder may be particularly vulnerable to changes in cognition over the year.
Brain Scans Reveal Why Up To One in Six People Get SAD in Winter
The new research had 28 men and women visit the lab at different times of the year to take various tests.
Both brain scans and behavioural tests were used.
Only the brain scans showed the differences, not the behavioural tests.
The study was published in the journal PNAS (Meyer et al., 2016).
Image credit: Noukka Signe
