In a new study, researchers evaluated two methods for restoring fading memories. (Image credit: Moor Studio via Getty Images)
New research suggests half-forgotten memories can be brought back to life through 'mental time travel'.
A study published Monday (July 28) in the journal PNAS showed that people can recover their fading memories by recalling the emotions and thoughts they had when they formed them. What's more, the researchers found that the recovered memories were then almost as easy to retrieve as newly created ones.
The study focused on memories associated with learned information, rather than, for example, memories of events. When we learn something, that new memory balances on a curve of forgetting, like a boulder sitting on top of a tall mountain. As the boulder rolls down, we lose some details of the memory. But as we approach the bottom of the memory mountain, where the slope becomes less steep, the rate of forgetting slows.
You may like
-
Stellate brain cells may be the basis of the brain's vast memory store
-
A surprisingly simple 'dial' in the brain can help it distinguish between imagination and reality
Sourse: www.livescience.com
