Memory

When the brain rests after learning, it actively replays recent experiences. A new brain imaging study reveals this mental replay prioritizes general themes while stripping away specific details, suggesting false memories are a natural byproduct of learning.

A small pilot study explored whether listening to favorite pop songs helps or hinders visual memory. Brain scans suggest preferred music might support attention, but larger studies are needed to verify these preliminary findings.

During sleep, the brain replays the day's events to lock in memories. A new study reveals that the brain networks governing physical habits can run these offline rehearsals entirely on their own, challenging classic theories of memory.

Losing deep belly fat rather than just overall body weight is linked to slower brain aging and better memory years later. New research suggests targeting visceral fat might protect cognitive function by improving long-term blood sugar control.

A recent study found that both high-salt and severely low-salt diets impair memory in mice. While high salt triggers inflammation, extreme salt restriction starves the gut microbiome of metabolic byproducts needed for optimal brain function.

A recent imaging study reveals that fluid from the brain drains directly into the spongy bone marrow of the human skull. This newly mapped biological pathway appears to influence sleep quality, systemic inflammation, and cognitive performance.

A new small study in rats reveals that the digestive tract communicates with the brain during meals to help remember where food was found, a process that can be disrupted by an early-life junk food diet.

A teenager with an exceptionally rare memory condition doesn't just remember his past—he is constantly bombarded by it. New research reveals that highly superior autobiographical memory involves an uncontrollable flood of unprompted, spontaneous memories.

A sleepless night severely impairs your ability to form new memories. But a recent study shows that a 20-minute workout or a 90-minute nap can both protect memory after sleep loss, using completely different brain mechanisms.

A longitudinal study reveals that playing fast-paced action games and turn-based strategy games can enhance memory and attention. Brain scans indicate that action games lead to stronger and longer-lasting structural changes in the brain’s neural networks.

While childhood intelligence and grades do not predict how people view their memory in old age, a new study finds that early adolescent school anxiety does.

New research reveals that taking a screenshot on your smartphone makes you less likely to remember the image later. Unlike other memory aids, this "digital amnesia" doesn't free up your brainpower for other tasks—it just hurts your memory.

Researchers found that altering a small group of dopamine-producing neurons in fruit flies fragments their sleep. This sleep deprivation prevents the insects from forming long-term memories, highlighting a crucial neural link between rest and learning.

Scientists have uncovered a surprising twist in how our minds age. A new brain scanning study shows that a mechanism designed to protect our memories eventually begins to blend them together, leading to everyday confusion.

Elementary school students who learn to calculate using a mental abacus tend to perform better on math tests than their peers. A new study suggests this advantage is partly explained by enhanced numerical processing, attention, and memory.