Memory - PsyBlog

The Popular Drink That Jump Starts Short-Term Memory

Afterwards, people responded faster and had stronger short-term memory.

The caffeine in two cups of coffee is enough to jump start short-term memory.

Short-term memory is the type used for keeping things in consciousness for a short period.

Dr. Koppelstätter, the study’s first author, said it is…

“…like looking up a telephone number in the phone book and storing the number until you’ve dialed it.”

For the research, 15 people were given either the equivalent of two cups of coffee or a placebo, then asked to do a standard memory test.

Those given caffeine responded faster and had stronger short-term memory.

Brain scans also revealed that caffeine was linked to higher activation of the frontal lobes, where working memory is partly located.

Dr. Koppelstätter said:

“What is exciting is that by means of fMRI we are able to see that caffeine exerts increases in neuronal activity in distinct parts of the brain going along with changes in behavior.”

The study was published in the journal Neuroimage (Koppelstätter et al., 2008).

Why Breathing Through Your Nose Changes How You Think

How we breathe affects brain activity, memory and the emotions.

Breathing in through the nose boosts memory because inhaling stimulates the brain.Scientists have shown for the first time how the rhythm of breathing affects electrical activity in the brain.People were more likely to remember objects they had encountered while breathing in than breathing out, the study results showed.While breathing in, people were also quicker to identify a fearful face.Mouth breathing did not have the same effect — it had to be inhaling through the nose.Dr Christina Zelano, the lead author, said:

“One of the major findings in this study is that there is a dramatic difference in brain activity in the amygdala and hippocampus during inhalation compared with exhalation.When you breathe in, we discovered you are stimulating neurons in the olfactory cortex, amygdala and hippocampus, all across the limbic system.”

The scientists first came across this curious phenomenon when studying seven patients with epilepsy.Recordings of their brain activity showed it changed with breathing.For the study, 60 people were shown faces on a computer screen and later objects they had to remember.There was evidence of the same curious changes of brain activity with breathing.Rapid breathing may give us a cognitive advantage in some situations, said Dr Zelano:

“If you are in a panic state, your breathing rhythm becomes faster.As a result you’ll spend proportionally more time inhaling than when in a calm state.Thus, our body’s innate response to fear with faster breathing could have a positive impact on brain function and result in faster response times to dangerous stimuli in the environment.”

Dr Zelano said it also provided insight into how practices like meditation affect the brain:

“When you inhale, you are in a sense synchronizing brain oscillations across the limbic network.”

The study was published in the Journal of Neuroscience (Zelano et al., 2016).

Infant Amnesia? In Fact, Your Earliest Memories May Still Be There (M)

What if your baby brain held onto memories, but you just can’t retrieve them?

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People With Poor Memories Have One Major Advantage (M)

Why you should celebrate your poor memory.

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A Common Drink That Boosts Memory By 70% (M)

Memory loss risk reduced by this common drink.

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The Brain Structure That Is Shrunk By Major Depression (M)

Research uncovers striking brain differences in depressed individuals.

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This Drink Reduces Memory Loss Risk By 47%

The common drink that may protect the brain against memory loss.

Drinking orange juice regularly is linked to a 47 percent lower risk of memory problems with age, research suggests.

Berry fruits, orange and red vegetables and leafy greens may also help protect against memory loss.

The results come from a study that followed 27,842 men for 20 years.

Every four years they were asked about the foods they ate and were given tests of their memory and thinking skills.

They were also asked questions including:

“Do you have more trouble than usual remembering a short list of items, such as a shopping list?”
“Do you have more trouble than usual following a group conversation or a plot in a TV program due to your memory?”

Those that had six servings of fruit and vegetables a day were 34% less likely to experience poor thinking skills later on.

Eating more fruit and vegetables in midlife was linked to better cognitive health later on — even if the men stopped eating fruit and vegetables.

Dr Changzheng Yuan, study co-author, said:

“One of the most important factors in this study is that we were able to research and track such a large group of men over a 20-year period of time, allowing for very telling results.
Our studies provide further evidence dietary choices can be important to maintain your brain health.”

The study only showed an association, it does not prove causation.

The study was published in the journal Neurology (Yuan et al., 2018).

This Psychological Trick Makes It Easier To De-Clutter Your Home

Psychologists uncover a simple method to make parting with unwanted possessions easier.

People are more likely to give away unneeded goods if they first take a picture of them.

For people who find their houses filling up with stuff they no longer use, the psychological trick could help them de-clutter.

Dr Rebecca Reczek, study co-author, said:

“What people really don’t want to give up is the memories associated with the item.
We found that people are more willing to give up these possessions if we offer them a way to keep the memory and the identity associated with that memory.”

Preserve the memory

The study involved 797 students who saw an advert for a donation drive.

Half the students saw an ad that said: “Don’t Pack up Your Sentimental Clutter…Just Keep a Photo of It, Then Donate.”

The other half saw an ad that said: “Don’t Pack Up Your Sentimental Clutter, Just Collect the Items, Then Donate.”

Students that ‘preserved’ the memory of what they were donating with a photo were more likely to give things away.

Dr Karen Winterich, study co-author, said:

“The project got started when I realized I was keeping an old pair of basketball shorts just because they reminded me of beating a major rival basketball team in junior high.
I didn’t want the shorts — I wanted the memory of winning that game and that’s what I thought of when I saw the shorts.
A picture can easily mark that memory for me and I can donate it so someone else can use it, which is even better.”

The study suggests an easier way to let go of old stuff, said Dr Reczek:

“It is not terribly surprising that we can keep the same memories alive just by taking a photo of these possessions, but it is not a natural behavior.
It is something we have to train ourselves to do.”

Memories of the item are also linked to our identities, further studies found.

Dr Reczek said:

“These memories connected to possessions are a carrier for identity.
It is this reluctance to give up a piece of our identity that is driving our reluctance to donate.”

The trick may not work for items that are sold or that have strong sentimental value.

The study was published in the Journal of Marketing (Winterich et al., 2018).

This Activity Is The Brain’s Best Defence Against Stress

Prolonged stress weakens the synapses — the connections between brain cells — in the hippocampus.

Running reverses the damaging effects of chronic stress on critical areas of the brain.

Stress can damage the functioning of the hippocampus, a structure of the brain important for memory and learning.

Running, however, protects the brain’s ability to learn and recall information, even under stress.

Dr Jeff Edwards, the study’s first author, said:

“Exercise is a simple and cost-effective way to eliminate the negative impacts on memory of chronic stress.”

Prolonged stress weakens the synapses — the connections between brain cells — in the hippocampus.

The study on mice, though, found that running over a 4-week period negated these negative effects.

Stressed mice who exercised did just as well on a maze-running experiment as non-stressed mice who exercised.

The mice who exercised also had stronger connections between the synapses in their brain.

Naturally, the best memory and learning performance is achieved in a low stress, high exercise environment.

Dr Edwards said:

“The ideal situation for improving learning and memory would be to experience no stress and to exercise.
Of course, we can’t always control stress in our lives, but we can control how much we exercise.
It’s empowering to know that we can combat the negative impacts of stress on our brains just by getting out and running.”

The study was published in the journal Neurobiology of Learning and Memory (Roxanne et al., 2018).