Imagine the itinerary you typically take to the grocery depot . Now think the many identifiable watershed that subsist between your home base and the store — like a specific garden , halt sign , or gas station .
Take these landmarks and associate them with things you ’re trying to commend , such as the items on your market list . So for the garden , let ’s assign mustard greens . For the catch house , we ’ll add catsup , and for the gasoline station , we ’ll use relish . Once at the grocery store store , you ’ll be capable to return these detail simply by re - opine your trip to the grocery store shop and the associated landmarks .
This mnemonic , called the “ method of loci , ” has been around for centuries , and it ’s astonishingly effective . Newresearchpublished in Science Advances on Wednesday advise this technique is good for both short - term memory and also long - condition recall . What ’s more , the method of loci rewires the brain , allowing for the improved storage and recovery of tenacious - terminal figure memory , according to the fresh determination . The study was contribute by neuroscientist Isabella Wagner from Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands .
File photo of an fMRI brain scanner.Image: Keith Srakocic (AP)
“ It is so effective that memory athletes , those who train and have superior computer storage , utilize them , too , ” Jeni Pathman , an assistant professor at York University in Toronto , explained in an electronic mail , refer to the technique .
This method , which date back to ancient Greece , works well because it allows us to utilize well - be intimate places or routes that service as a kind of “ scaffolding , ” as Wagner explain in an email . This lets us embed unexampled — but wholly unrelated information — onto a “ structure ” we already sleep together , she say .
“ Moreover , it by all odds serve to form unusual , refreshing , or even bizarre association that capture attending , ” Wagner say . “ The combination of prior knowledge and freshness is very powerful to boost memory . ”
That the method of loci is good for shortsighted - term recall is well known , but its effect on longer term memory is poorly see , as is the effect of this technique on the genius . To find out , Wagner and her colleagues recruited 17 leading memory athletes — all experts in the method acting of loci — and 50 non - experts . These 50 individuals were assigned to three groups , one that went through a rigorous six - workweek training course in the method of loci , a group that pick up work store training , and a mathematical group with no memory preparation at all .
“ We want to see whether novice could school the method acting of venue to such an extent that they would make public presentation levels nigh to genuine memory hotshot , and also whether their brain processes become similar to those of star with breeding , ” explained Wagner .
All participants were put through functional magnetic resonance imaging scanners both before and after training , which was done to assess their memory carrying into action and meditate brain function .
With brain scans , scientists can “ indirectly image the body process of neurons in the brain , ” allowing them to identify region that are “ engross during studying new info , during memory , or during rest , which is important to stabilize entropy in the head for a long term , ” sound out Wagner , to which she tot up : “ This is also why a good night of sleep or a nap are very important ! ”
In full term of the memorisation task , player were asked to learn lean of random Holy Scripture . They were then show word triplets , that is , three words at a fourth dimension , and asked if the words were acquaint in the same or unlike decree compare to how they appear during training .
Four months later , the participant were administer the test to see if they were still able to recall some of the memorized countersign from the training sessions . The method acting of loci chemical group recalled 50 word on average , the working memory group recalled around 30 words , and the untrained group just 27 words on modal .
“ operation was still remarkably good after four months , showing that participants were still able to successfully utilize the method acting of loci to improve their memory , ” said Wagner . “ This was not super surprising to us , since we already hoped that grooming would have a long - live effect . ”
Analysis of the brain scans showed decreased activity in the sidelong prefrontal , posterior parahippocampal , and retrosplenial cortex — areas associate with labor - based activating . By “ task - free-base activating , ” the scientist are referring to Einstein unconscious process that are happen during the studying and remembering of random tidings lists . This was observed in both memory jock and the non - experts that received breeding .
“ We find that breeding led to decrease brain activation in regions that are typically engage in ( spatial ) memory processing and that are important for farsighted - term retentivity , ” explain Wagner . “ This was slightly surprising to us , as good performance is typically associated with increased engagement of unlike Einstein region . What we see here is the opposite : training lessen activity in these realm so that lower Einstein energizing leads to better retentivity . ”
This could be represent as “ neural efficiency , ” she said , as less resources might be needed to reach improved carrying out .
At the same clock time , the preparation resulted in the boosting of neuronal connexion between the hippocampus and cerebral mantle . This helps with the memory board of memories for the long term , which could explicate why the participant ’ recall was so good four months subsequently .
“ This study is important because , not only did it show that regular hoi polloi can practice using this proficiency to create long - endure store , but it showed how it can affect their brains , ” Jeni Pathman , an adjunct prof at York University in Toronto , said in an email . “ Those that were in the memory training chemical group showed activity in the encephalon during learning and remembering that was more similar to memory athletes . ”
Pathman ’s only complaint was the comparatively small sample size of it , which she say is “ perceivable given the nature of this piece of work . ” In footing of required future workplace , Pathman said it would be “ important to extend this subject field about creating long - lasting memory to other age group or to groups that may have more difficulty with memory , ” as they might be able-bodied to do good , too .
Good item .
Indeed , the method of locale could be of aid to people with age - related cognitive declination , but succeeding inquiry will have to suss that out . For now , we can leverage these new findings as we garden , lay off sign , and accelerator station our direction through the foodstuff store .
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