Participants avoided egg salad sandwiches after false memories of sickness were implanted.
Even when human memory is working normally, it is still frequently unfaithful. Instead of the total recall of, say, a video camera we get something more like a symbolist, or even abstract painting. Sights, sounds and smells are refracted by our minds into memories that often tell more about us than the original events they apparently record.
New memory study records the activation of human brain cells deep inside the living brain.
The mystery of what happens in our brains when we remember something is fascinating not only from a scientific perspective but also because the experience of recall can be so, well, memorable. Thinking backwards we become sensory time travellers; recalling sights, sounds, events, emotions – all in the blink of an eye. But what happens in our brains when we travel backwards?
To make decisions that will make us happy in the future we need to acknowledge how the memory bias can warp our predictions.
To make decisions that will make us happy in the future we need to acknowledge how the memory bias can warp our predictions.
Today, making my plans for the upcoming public holiday sent my mind straight back four weeks. Then, heading out into the unseasonably warm spring weather, I had high hopes for a relaxing day off.
Unfortunately everyone else in London had exactly the same idea. The whole day my every plan for having fun was foiled: restaurants were booked up, bars were full to overflowing and when I finally did get sat down at a riverside restaurant, it started raining.
Continue reading “See How Easily You Can Avoid The Memory Bias”
A strange thing happens when talking we usually don’t notice – our hands move.
A strange thing happens when talking we usually don’t notice – our hands move. They draw precise shapes, caress invisible objects, punch the air and quiver. What is the point of all this hand waving?
Here’s a study that’s guaranteed to set psychologists’ minds a-spinning with ethical issues. Professor Loftus (left) at the University of California managed to put participants off strawberry ice cream, pickles and hard-boiled eggs by implanting false childhood memories:
Continue reading “Implanting False Memories May Help Dieters”
A recent study reported in Scientific American points the way towards a possible new treatment for ADHD. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD is a widely misunderstood condition which severely affects as many as one in a 100 children.
Many studies have already shown the benefits of medication – specifically Ritalin – in treating the condition. This is a stimulant that can improve ADHD dramatically, although exactly how it works remains a mystery.
One theory is that the problems associated with ADHD are partly a result of an impairment of working memory. This new research examines the possibility that a computer programme can be used to train working memory.
The outcomes from this study showed a significant benefit after training as rated by the children’s parents. To its detriment though, no benefit was seen by the children’s teachers. As ever, with brand new treatment methods, it remains to be seen whether these results can be replicated, and also whether teacher ratings will show an improvement.
Scientific American
Attention Research Update provides a summary of the research.
Some of the first evidence coming through that sustained use of ecstasy might impair memory:
“Researchers found the ecstasy users remembered an average of 25% less items. University senior lecturer in psychology Dr Tom Heffernan said: “I would say it was quite a significant forgetting rate. It is something they certainly should be concerned about.”
This research comes on top of some previous research showing cognitive deficits in ecstasy users as as well evidence that heavy ecstasy use is linked to depressive symptoms. Find out more about the emergence of the popular recreational drug.
Some proper science here at last. I get a little nervous when I’ve been posting too many fluffy pieces about dating or life coaches! This study updates the theories about the relationship between the number of short-term memory slots a person has and their intelligence.
Studies of English-speakers have found that people can retain between 5 and 9 items in short-term memory. Other languages have been tested and while most were similar, some exceptions have been found. Chinese speakers could remember between 7 and 11 items while deaf people using sign language between 4 and 6. The reason for this was thought to be how long it took to say these words in the particular language. Chinese numbers are short, hence their performance better.
This study, however implies that this test is biased for the type of processing that the brain is doing: in this case mainly auditory. The researchers developed a new test that was not biased towards auditory processing, and this produced more standardised results for those using sign language.
> Article abstract from Nature Neuroscience
Journos seem surprised by this study that found that those who were in a bad mood were better eye witnesses than those in a good mood. To me, it makes perfect sense. My firm belief is that being in a good mood is all about self-deception, for God’s sake don’t look too closely at the details. I’m happy because I’m in denial about life, and long may it last!
> From News Medical
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