Memory

Has an old photo ever stopped you in your tracks, flooding you with memories so vivid you could almost step back into that moment? Or maybe a familiar song came on the radio and suddenly you were transported to a different time, a different version of yourself. That rush of…

There are two main categories of memory: short and long-term memory, which differ in what information is stored and how. Short-term memory is essentially responsible for storing temporary information and deciding what to do with it: throw it away or pass it to our long-term memory. Long-term memory, on the…

A cardinal feature of depression, like other mental health conditions such as anxiety or trauma, is difficulty with memory: remembering, recalling, and—sometimes in severe cases—recognizing people, things, tasks, memories, events, and to-dos. Often, people with depression will have great difficulty remembering where things in the house or at work may…

Alzheimer’s diminishes one’s memory, ability to think, and everyday functioning; currently, an estimated 5.8 million Americans suffer from the disease. That said, memory loss doesn’t always signify Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia—instead, we might experience a simple lapse in our memory. It’s important to distinguish the difference and understand…

A recent study says emotional or traumatic events can create false memories, despite the widespread belief that traumatic events are more vivid and, therefore, reliable.  The latter belief is called flashbulb memory, which says that emotional events cause us to completely capture the context of the event and our reaction…

Rarely do we second guess the validity of our memory, but the truth is that our minds do sometimes deceive us by creating false or distorted memories. A recent study demonstrated this phenomenon, as participants claimed to remember viewing footage of United 93 crashing in Pennsylvania on September 11—but this…

Implicit memory is easily recalled without much effort, helping us with tasks like walking, talking, and driving a car on a regular basis, all without much effort. An Implicit Association Test was created to test our associations with particular individuals; it urges subjects to make quick judgments and often indicates…

People remember more while still intoxicated than they do a week later. A University of Gothenburg study recruited 136 participants and divided them into twogroups. One group drank vodka, while the other drank juice. Participants then watched ashort film that depicted a verbal and physical altercation. Half of the participants…

Losing a loved one is always difficult, but there is a more severe form of grief—called complicated grief—which makes it hard for an individual to ever move forward with life. Complicated grief is marked by debilitating feelings that don’t resolve or improve with time; instead, they can haunt an individual…

You’d be pretty hard-pressed to argue that fact that our culture is somewhat obsessed with nostalgia right now. From fashion to the endless slew of movie and television show remakes being produced these days, it’s apparent that people crave nostalgia. So why is this the case? Is it merely because…

‘Never Eat Soggy Waffles.’ Not a bad piece of advice, but actually not a piece of advice at all—instead, an easy way to remember where North, East, South, and West are on a map. This mnemonic device made first grade a whole lot easier. As did ‘My Very Educated Mother…

Have you ever walked into a room and been overwhelmed by a feeling of familiarity—even though it’s your first time being there? Or been in the middle of a conversation when it dawns on you: I’ve had this conversation with this person before, despite their insisting that you haven’t? I…