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Forget something? Here’s how to improve your memory

Crysta Henthorne
/
KCUR 89.3

If you ask your friends about their favorite memories, they may mention their first kiss, a wedding day, or perhaps even giving birth to their child. It’s usually an important moment in time.

But how does that process of remembering work?

A common misconception is that when we try to remember a past event, our brain just pops in a DVD so we can re-watch the “movie” in our minds.

However, that’s not the case. Instead, each part of a memory — like the smell, sound or taste — is stored in a different section of our brain. And then all these sections are tied together, connected at the hippocampus.

When you recall a memory, your hippocampus pulls on the respective strings and your brain attempts to reassemble that moment.

Since you are literally rebuilding your memories from the blueprints in the hippocampus, your experience with the triggered memory can differ from day to day.

Sometimes you might focus on a sound, whereas other times you’ll think about the smell. It really just depends on what triggered that memory in the first place.

What exactly is a memory?

Close up of a refrigerator door with several Stickie notes of reminders stuck to it. A hand can be seen using a marker to write another note.
Photo illustration by Carlos Moreno
/
KCUR 89.3
Humans have multiple kinds of long-term memories that operate in different ways, depending on the kind of information.

A memory is what we call the brain’s ability to encode, store, and retrieve information. And not all memories are alike.

When you try to hold a limited amount of information for a brief period of time, such as logging a new phone number, you’re using your working memory.

Long-term memories are typically organized into two categories: declarative and nondeclarative memories.

Declarative memories are our conscious memories. These are things that you might need to actively think about. For example, if you were asked, “Who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize?”, you could use a declarative memory to identify the answer, Marie Curie.

Nondeclarative memories are unconscious. They’re what allow you to unbutton your shirt without thinking about the specific movements of your fingers.

Kausik Si is a developmental neuroscientist at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. His research focuses on memory loss and how memories are created. He's working with sea snails, fruit flies and human brains to better understand the complexities of long-term memory.
Suzanne Hogan
/
KCUR 89.3
Kausik Si is a developmental neuroscientist at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. His research focuses on memory loss and how memories are created. He's working with sea snails, fruit flies and human brains to better understand the complexities of long-term memory.

In general, “knowing how” is nondeclarative and “knowing that” is declarative.

But scientists can also distinguish a few different categories of long-term memories, which together can explain how humans operate. Those include:

  • Procedural memories (AKA muscle memory): what we use when we throw a ball, type on the keyboard, and learn a new instrument.
  • Priming: when a previous memory affects our interaction with a current item
  • Classical conditioning: where we pair two stimuli, just like Pavlov did when he trained his dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell. 
  • Semantic memories: facts that you know, but you likely don’t remember when or how you learned them.
  • Episodic memories: the time travel type, where you connect a date with an emotional experience (like dancing in the rain on your wedding day)

And we aren’t the only species with these abilities. Some research points to birds also recalling episodic memories.

How can we improve our memory?

Dr. Elizabeth Kensinger is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Boston College, and she has a lot of tips for how we can help our hippocampus encode, consolidate and store, and retrieve a specific memory.

“By and large, if you want to form a memory, you want to be getting it into your working memory, which means paying attention to it, thinking about it,” she says.

That’s why, when you’re doing something like studying for a test, it’s important to limit distractions and not multitask.

Elizabeth Kensinger is a professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Boston College. Her research focuses on emotion and memory, and she's exploring the effects of how sleep and stress can impact our ability to form memories.
Lee Pellegrini
Elizabeth Kensinger is a professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Boston College. Her research focuses on emotion and memory, and she's exploring the effects of how sleep and stress can impact our ability to remember.

Kensinger suggests focusing on the two P’s: “pay attention” and “practice.” You’ll need to put in effort in order to turn a short-term memory into a long-term one.

And don’t forget to sleep! Your brain consolidates and stores memories while you are unconscious at night.

But how do we know all this? This research dates back to a lobotomy in the 1950s, which ripped the field wide open.

To learn more about cracking the code of memory and its connection to the hippocampus, check out the latest episode of Seeking A Scientist.

Additional sources from Seeking A Scientist:

Seeking A Scientist is a production of KCUR Studios. It's made possible with support from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, where scientists work to accelerate our understanding of human health and disease.

It's hosted by Dr. Kate Biberdorf, AKA Kate the Chemist. Our senior producer is Suzanne Hogan. Our editor is Mackenzie Martin. Our digital editor is Gabe Rosenberg. This episode was mixed by Olivia Hewitt and Suzanne Hogan.

Additional support from David McKeel, Byron Love, Allison Harris and Genevieve DesMarteau.

Our original theme music is by The Coma Calling. Additional music from Blue Dot Sessions.

Stay Connected
Dr. Kate Biberdorf (aka Kate The Chemist) is the host of the KCUR Studios podcast Seeking A Scientist. She is a chemist, science entertainer, and professor at The University of Texas.
As managing podcast producer for KCUR Studios and a host of A People’s History of Kansas City, I want to feed your curious mind, offer historical context so you understand why things are the way they are, and introduce you to the people working to make a difference behind the scenes. Reach me at hogansm@kcur.org.
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