16
votes
Why do dreams lose clarity quickly over time after we awaken?
Short answer: Because areas of the brain needed for remembering are turned off during dreaming.
Dream Amnesia:
The process of converting perception into a memory construct that can be stored is ...
- 19.4k
14
votes
Is post-traumatic stress disorder preventable?
Beta blockers (β1-Blockers) lower norepinephrine release (Berg, 2014), however it seems that the jury is still out on whether there is an effective and ethical way to prevent Post-Traumatic Stress ...
- 12.1k
13
votes
Accepted
What is the information storage capacity of the human brain?
Disclaimer: Quantifying the capacity of the human brain is quiet complex as you might imagine. And although in cognitive neuroscience we often compare the brain to computers this is not an exact ...
- 1,196
11
votes
Accepted
Can suggestion change memories?
The answer to your question is yes, our memories are very malleable. Look into the research of Elizabeth Loftus. She is kind of the pioneer on this topic and has done a ton of research into false ...
- 981
8
votes
Can memorising a new thing erase existing memories?
Although this is quite an old question, I thought I would add additional
information regarding this topic for consideration.
As already noted, the storage capacity of the human brain is certainly ...
- 1,247
8
votes
Is a network of neurons the only factor in memory?
Answer
Yes, theoretically.
Now
According to my ongoing informal research, there are two sides of brain preservation innovation: 1) the preservation and mapping (building) the connectome; and 2) the ...
- 201
8
votes
Study claims that human brain does not produce new brain cells?
The hippocampus does make new brain cells, especially after aerobic exercise; there is an overwhelming amount of evidence for this claim (Erickson, Voss, et al., 2011; Firth, Stubbs, et al., 2017; ...
- 321
6
votes
Do dreams repeat/continue? Or is it just a perception that a dream repeated?
Disclaimer: My answer is about recurrent dreams. I don't have any immediate sources to consult on the continuation part (and there are less references to it in literature), but I'd be very surprised ...
- 1,115
6
votes
Accepted
Is memory biased towards positive or negative memories?
The short answer is: it depends on age. For younger adults, negative memories last longer than positive memories. The opposite is true for older adults (above 60 years old).
This paper is a good ...
- 1,151
6
votes
How accurate is this explanation of memory?
Really nice video and pretty much seems to be correct. The only thing that i am questioning is about the patterns. He says they won't exist after regeneration. However, just a thought: if you would ...
- 3,172
6
votes
Accepted
Does language learning improve or worsen the ability to remember and process information?
What I do not quite understand is: What is (according to Syka) "useless information" and how should we "avoid" this kind of information?
Let me try and answer this as follows: During our lifetime, ...
- 296
6
votes
Accepted
What is a Good Working Memory Test Online (or overall if none)?
it will be tricky to study your own improvement in working memory and I wouldn't suggest it! There is substantial research showing that although training can improve performance on specific cognitive ...
- 569
6
votes
Is there an audio equivalent of eidetic memory?
I have been doing some research and this is what I found so far.
First, the memory of sounds is called echoic memory (Alley Dog; Echoic Memory Definition) and is a form of sensory memory. This means ...
- 385
6
votes
Why can't human thoughts be stored in metals?
First off, you mention 'metals'. What is a metal?
In common speech, a metal is a shiny material that conducts electricity and heat well.
In physics, a metal is regarded as a substance capable ...
- 20.5k
6
votes
Accepted
How to measure the correlation between "spirituality" and the susceptibility to false memories?
Maybe what you are looking for is the field cognitive science of religion:
Cognitive science of religion is the study of religious thought and behavior from the perspective of the cognitive and ...
- 1,771
5
votes
What brain areas are involved in memorizing sections of a song?
I would read this paper, its mighty interesting.
Books
Snyder, B.(2000) Music and memory: An introduction. The MIT Press. Cambridge 291.
Hemispheric Coordination and Conflict
"...while listening ...
- 1,192
5
votes
Accepted
Are all conscious experiences stored as memories?
This question can be addressed in many ways. One approach that we have taken is to test memory for what has just recently happened a few seconds ago. In these experiments we ask people to find a ...
- 66
5
votes
Accepted
In ACT-R difference between declarative and working memory
This article explains the difference :
Declarative memory takes the form of a semantic net linking
propositions, images, and sequences by associations.
The nodes of long-term memory all have ...
- 2,177
5
votes
Accepted
Is it counter-productive to study while tired?
Yes. When studying sleep is crucial in consolidating memories. Recently a wave of research and opinion has hit around optimizing learning, sleep is always mentioned as key. To prominent authors are ...
- 863
5
votes
Accepted
Long-Term (Not WM) Memory Norms
Yes. A lot.
A possible place to get started is the wiki page for Ebbinghaus, skip to "Contributions to memory".
Ebbinghaus's work is kind of dated, like 1885 kind of dated, but the point is the ...
- 1,389
5
votes
Accepted
Opposite of White Bear principle?
Short answer
Over-thinking
Background
Unconscious recall of information can be more effective than conscious recall of that same information. Disruption of the activity of the dorsolateral prefrontal ...
- 20.5k
5
votes
What happens in the brain that allows access to a previous unavailable memory?
These kinds of research questions are interesting, but notoriously hard to investigate empirically, because:
You need human subjects that are able to provide complex feedback, i.e., you can't use ...
- 20.5k
5
votes
Accepted
Is there a specific term for the notion of storing "algorithms" in human memory?
This is called procedural memory.
In textbooks, memory is often broken down into a hierarchy of types. Note that this taxonomy is primarily a guide to language use - ie, how types of memory are ...
- 19.4k
5
votes
Accepted
Faithfully recounting the events of the day
The thing recalled in your definition of faithfully recount seems to need sharpening since any successful pattern completion of such a thing (episodic event) is conditioned on its distinct pattern ...
- 287
4
votes
Accepted
Can memory access be detected via fMRI?
In theory, yes, because there are now many theories, supported by evidence, which map different memory processes onto different regions and patterns of activity in the brain.
In practice, there are ...
- 1,113
4
votes
Accepted
Does the use of cannabis affect the ability to recall dreams?
Current research tells us that yes, cannabis will affect the ability to recall dreams. As for the negative - positive outcomes, it seems to be subjective.
One of the few researchers in this field, ...
- 156
4
votes
Can dreams predict the future?
Short answer
Dreams cannot predict the future.
Background
Likely you are referring to Deja reve ('already dreamed'), which has been hypothesized to be (Schredi et al., 2017):
...the distinct ...
- 20.5k
4
votes
Accepted
Is it fair to categorize the neurons in the output layer of artificial neural networks as grandmother cells?
I would say it depends on what your goals are and what parts of the grandmother cell "story" you want to highlight.
Sure, the output layer is grandmother-like because it can represent single concepts
...
- 7,221
4
votes
Accepted
How can different ion channels of the same type have different cell responses?
Quibbling about other types of LTP (not mediated by NDMA receptors) aside, this is a good question, with a rather intricate answer.
Basically (NDMAR mediated) LTP is not merely activated by calcium, ...
- 10.2k
4
votes
Are memories stored as patterns of chemicals/emotions?
Understanding how memories are stored and retrieved in the brain is actually a pretty popular topic in neuronal dynamics. The mathematical theory of dynamical systems comes in handy here. A population ...
- 532
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