Articles tagged with Associative Memory
The Gerontological Society of America has awarded USC's Mara Mather the 2007 Richard Kalish Innovative Publication Award for her groundbreaking research on memory in older adults. Her work challenges traditional notions of memory as an exact photograph, highlighting the role of cognitive control in emotional memory.
A study led by Pauline Maki found that hormone therapy increased sexual interest and reduced hot flashes in younger mid-life women, but did not improve memory performance. The therapy combination of estrogen and progesterone showed a 32% increase in sexual thoughts and a 44% increase in sexual interest compared to the placebo group.
Aging does not seem to affect people's ability to judge their own learning of text materials, according to a new study. Researchers found that older adults can regulate their learning more effectively if they have accurate self-evaluation skills.
Scientists found that long-term memories require a miniature molecular machine to maintain, which must be constantly active. Jamming this 'machine' can briefly erase memories, suggesting potential future treatments for memory problems.
A new MIT study finds that mature brains process and retain rich, contextual memories better than younger brains. Adults demonstrated a more developed prefrontal cortex leading to enhanced contextual memory formation.
A study by Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona found that the prelimbic prefrontal cortex plays a crucial role in social transmission of food preference. This discovery sheds new light on the functioning of declarative memory, which is affected in Alzheimer's disease.
A recent study published in Psychological Science found that spontaneously recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse are corroborated about 37% of the time, similar to continuous memories. In contrast, memories recovered in therapy were never verified. These findings suggest that therapy can lead to suggestion and distortion of memo...
Research suggests that low doses of ecstasy may harm verbal memory function, particularly in areas involving serotonin. A study found that individuals who started using ecstasy at a young age showed decreased verbal memory performance compared to those who never used the drug.
Researchers are using a virtual reality simulation called Virtual Iraq to better understand how symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develop. The study found that participating veterans with PTSD experience increased physiological arousal, anxiety, and suppressed memories after viewing the simulation.
French CNRS scientists have shown that a traumatic memory can be wiped out using a drug, while other associated recollections remain intact. This result could lead to the development of treatments for post-traumatic stress disorders.
MIT researchers report that replayed memories in rats' brains contain visual images, reinforcing the idea that animal dreams mimic human experiences. The study reveals simultaneous reactivation of memory traces in both the visual cortex and hippocampus during sleep.
A new study by Ann E. Schlosser found that virtual experiences improved people's memories of a camera's functions, but also increased false positives and created vivid internally-generated recollections.
Researchers found that memory problems in older adults are associated with Alzheimer's disease pathology in the brain. The study used memory complaint scores to identify individuals with brain changes linked to Alzheimer's disease, suggesting that memory complaints may serve as an early warning system.
A Case Western Reserve University study found that children's range of emotions in play can indicate how emotionally charged their memories will be. The researchers used this link to develop a tool for gauging emotional openness in children, which can help them process traumatic experiences and express negative emotions.
TGen researchers used the Affymetrix 500K array to identify a genetic variation associated with human memory performance. The study found that certain alleles of the Kibra gene were consistently present in individuals with good memory, but not those with poor memory.
A study has identified a human 'memory gene' called Kibra that plays a significant role in memory performance. The research, conducted by the Translational Genomics Research Institute and other institutions, found a strong association between Kibra and improved memory function.
Researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging to study how brain regions involved in reward processing interact with memory. They found that cues to high-reward scenes activated both the mesolimbic region and the hippocampus, leading to better memory performance for high-value scenes.
A study of adults with memory complaints found greater complaints were associated with global brain decline over two years. Those with the Alzhiemer's disease genetic risk factor showed more pronounced declines in temporal regions linked to memory functions.
The study found that explicit and implicit memory are strongly linked during encoding of new information, as measured by brain signal patterns. Researchers observed a reduction in brain activation when photos were viewed again, indicating repetition attenuation and a signature of implicit memory.
A team of researchers from UCI has identified a new form of superior memory syndrome, hyperthymestic syndrome, in a 40-year-old woman known as AJ. The study found that AJ's memory is instant and deeply personal, related to her own life or to other events that were of interest to her.
A study by Yale University researchers found that ghrelin, a hormone produced in the stomach, has a powerful influence on the hippocampus, a brain region critical for learning and memory. This discovery suggests that a potential recommendation could be to limit children's breakfast intake to optimize morning learning hours.
Researchers found that directly reactivated memories are vulnerable to disruption, but associated memories remain unaffected. This study may pave the way for novel treatments of traumatic memories.
A study by Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care found that older adults are more easily distracted due to gradual brain changes beginning in middle age. The researchers used fMRI to scan the brains of three age groups, including young adults, middle-aged adults, and older adults, revealing a seesaw imbalance in frontal lobe areas.
Researchers at the University of Leeds have developed a new framework to study chronic deja vu, a condition where people experience a strong sense of familiarity for new experiences. The Cognitive Feelings Framework (CFF) uses subjective reports and neuro-imaging to better understand everyday sensations like deja vu.
A study by Sean Polyn and colleagues used fMRI to track brain activity during memory retrieval, finding the 'bootstrapping' effect where recalling a part of a memory triggers associated memories. This technique could help treat brain disorders like Alzheimer's disease and guide creation of more self-sufficient artificial neural networks.
Researchers analyzed brain activity of rhesus monkeys to infer what they knew, finding novel nerve cells representing correct memory associations that persisted even after incorrect choices. Human memory relies on association, and behavioral performance may be influenced by external factors.
A new study by UCI researchers found that early life emotional stress can lead to deficits in brain-cell communication for learning and memory function, even in adulthood. Infants subjected to limiting nesting material in cages exhibited behavioral changes later in life, including difficulties with memory and recognition.
A study published in Neuron identifies the pre-frontal cortex as the origin of fear memory, contradicting previous research that linked it to the hippocampus. The researchers found that NMDA receptors play a critical role in developing fear memory, and blocking these receptors can reduce fear response.
A new treatment approach blocks memory for places associated with cocaine use by inactivating the ERK protein, suggesting a potential strategy for developing addiction therapies. The research provides novel insights into brain mechanisms underlying relapse and shows long-lasting effects.
A new study from Washington University in St. Louis shows that people with schizophrenia can remember things just as well as healthy subjects with proper cues and memory aids. The research suggests a new way to understand the cognitive problems underlying schizophrenia, offering hope for more effective cognitive rehabilitation programs.
A study by K-State researcher Elizabeth Cady found that familiar songs act as strong memory cues, regardless of whether participants heard the song or saw only the lyrics, photo or title. The study used 124 participants who chose a song from lists of popular music from different periods of their lives.
Research suggests that higher education helps older adults compensate for brain pathology and maintain cognitive function by engaging the frontal cortex. The study found a correlation between years of education and increased activity in the frontal lobes of older adults.
The study reveals that emotional pictures are recalled better than neutral ones, and this recall is associated with increased activity in the amygdala and hippocampus. The researchers propose a synergistic mechanism where emotion triggers recollection, creating a loop that could help understand traumatic memory recall in PTSD patients.
Adolescent smokers showed impairments in accuracy of working memory performance, with males more affected. Those trying to quit smoking also experienced further disruption of working memory.
A new fMRI study found that autobiographical memories engage different parts of the brain, even when recalling the same content. The study used 'diary' method to collect memories, revealing the frontal lobes involved in self-awareness and visual memory are more strongly activated for episodic memories.
Researchers found that the piriform cortex was activated when subjects saw objects previously associated with odors, confirming models of memory recall. The hippocampus draws on these sensory components to reconstruct rich memories.
Researchers at UCL's Institute of Neurology found that memories are distributed across different brain regions, not just one area. This means that a single sense can reactivate a memory, rather than requiring all aspects to be recreated.
The study by ASU researchers could lead to smarter robots and a better understanding of how humans process patterns. Oscillatory associative memory networks have been shown to have high memory capacity, similar to the Hopfield network, but with oscillatory units instead of discrete states.
A study suggests that people unconsciously recall images associated with African-Americans when reading news about violent crime, reflecting the influence of stereotypes on memory. This can have implications for law-enforcement scenarios, such as identifications in line-ups and racial profiling.
A large-scale Swedish study found that low vitamin B12 levels are associated with poorer memory in older adults with a high risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. The study also showed that genetic factors, such as the apolipoprotein E gene, interact with nutritional deficiencies to affect cognitive function.
Researchers discovered that the radish gene encodes a phospholipase-A2 enzyme, which plays a crucial role in anesthesia-resistant memory. The study found this enzyme is also involved in memory formation in chickens and rodents, suggesting a conserved mechanism across animal phyla.
Researchers found a significant bias against recovered memories, with an average rating of 3.6 compared to 4.0 for continuous memories. This bias may be caused by imprecise terminology and misleading media reports, which can harm victims of child abuse.
Scientists have identified a biological basis for suppressing unwanted memories, contradicting human intuition that people ruminate on unpleasant thoughts. The study found that controlling memory is associated with increased activation of the frontal cortex and reduced activation of the hippocampus.
Researchers found that unwanted memories can be suppressed using brain areas similar to those used during physical action control. This process reduces hippocampal activity, leading to forgetfulness. The study provides a novel neurobiological model for motivated forgetting, which may demystify how repression occurs.
Researchers have made advances in understanding false memories by identifying brain areas activated in true versus false memories. The right fusiform area was found to be more active in encoding objects that were later labeled as the same as those seen earlier, but less active when they were only similar or actually the same.
Researchers have found that the right fusiform area is more active when participants recognize objects as similar to those seen earlier, but less active when they correctly label them as new. This suggests that the right fusiform area plays a role in encoding specific visual details and may help reduce false memories.
Researchers identified three stages of memory processing: creating memories (6 hours), stabilizing them during sleep, and recalling and refining them. These findings have implications for the treatment of neurological disorders like PTSD.
Researchers at Weizmann Institute have identified a new principle guiding brain memory systems, explaining inconsistencies in previous studies. This discovery may lead to the development of new methods for wiping out unwanted memories and treating psychological trauma.
Researchers monitored activity of individual neurons in monkeys' brains as they learned new associations through a computer game. The study identified 'changing cells' whose neural activity paralleled learning, suggesting a gradual recruitment of hippocampal neurons involved in memory formation and long-term storage.
A research team at NYU has identified cells in the hippocampus that signal new memory formation, shedding light on how associations are formed in the brain. The discovery is a major breakthrough in understanding the brain basis of memory and could lead to new treatments for Alzheimer's disease.
Researchers at Northwestern University find brain tangles in normal aging and mild cognitive impairment, correlating with memory loss. Neurofibrillary tangles are more numerous in brain regions associated with memory function, suggesting a link between tangle density and memory performance.
Elizabeth Loftus presents her latest research on false memories, showing that suggestive interviewing and visual cues can plant false memories in people. Her studies have challenged the idea that memories are reliable and accurate.
Researchers found that ginseng compound increased brain chemicals associated with memory, improving average memory function after 12 weeks. The study, however, has limitations and recommends further research to establish efficacy and safety.
A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found an association between impaired glucose regulation and reduced hippocampal volume, leading to poorer memory performance. This suggests that improving glucose tolerance may have significant treatment implications for age-related cognitive decline.
The center aims to develop effective teen drug-abuse prevention programs by integrating theories and methods from diverse areas, including neurobiology, epidemiology, and social network analysis. Researchers will train investigators to incorporate approaches used by researchers in other disciplines.
Researchers have discovered a new structure in the human brain linked to learning and memory, called the marginal division (MrD). This pan-shaped structure, composed of spindle-shaped neurons, plays a key role in linking other memory-related structures.
A recent study published in JAMA found that ginkgo biloba provides no measurable benefit in memory, attention, or concentration in healthy older adults. The study, conducted by researchers at Williams College, tested the effects of ginkgo on memory and cognitive function in 230 volunteers over 60.
A study of Melbourne women found a decline in sexual interest, arousal, and frequency during menopause, with estradiol levels plummeting. Relationship factors, not hormonal changes, have the greatest impact on sexual response.
The study suggests that objects are recalled by uniting different brain regions, with the thalamus regulating electrical rhythms to connect these areas. This theory may help explain why some memories are clear while others are fuzzy.
A study by European psychologists found that people remember natural scenes significantly better when they're in color rather than black and white. The researchers also discovered that unnatural colors do not strengthen memory, suggesting that the brain is tuned to the color structure of the world.