Building a memory palace: World’s top memory athletes to compete May 2-3
Recalling long lists of random words, numbers and playing cards will be the challenge this weekend as two dozen of the world’s top memory athletes square off in San Diego for the 2015 Extreme Memory Tournament, an annual competition sponsored by Washington University in St. Louis and Dart NeuroScience.
Extra sleep fixes memory problems in flies with Alzheimer’s-like condition
Many studies have linked more sleep to better memory,
but new research in fruit flies at Washington University School of
Medicine in St. Louis demonstrates that extra sleep helps the brain
overcome catastrophic neurological defects that otherwise would block
memory formation.
Most American presidents destined to fade from nation’s memory, study suggests
American presidents spend their time in office trying
to carve out a prominent place in the nation’s collective memory, but
most are destined to be forgotten within 50-to-100 years of their
serving as president, suggests a study on presidential name recall
released Nov. 27 by the journal Science.
Expecting to teach enhances learning, recall
People learn better and recall more when given the impression that they will soon have to teach newly acquired material to someone else, suggests new research from the Department of Psychology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.
Those with episodic amnesia are not ‘stuck in time,’ says philosopher Carl Craver
It has generally been assumed that people with episodic amnesia experience time much differently than those with more typical memory function. However, recent research by Washington University philosopher Carl F. Craver, PhD, disputes this type of claim. “There are sets of claims that sound empirical, like ‘These people are stuck in time.’ But if you ask, ‘Have you actually tested what they know about time?’ the answer is no.”
Science of learning book offers tips to ‘Make it Stick’
“Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning” offers students of all ages a clear and
compelling primer on the best and worst ways to store and retrieve new
knowledge. The book is co-authored by psychologists Henry L. “Roddy” Roediger III and Mark A. McDaniel, leading experts on human learning and memory at Washington University in St. Louis, along with nonfiction writer and novelist Peter C. Brown.
New clue to autism found inside brain cells
Researchers at the School of Medicine have learned that the problems people with autism have with memory formation, higher-level thinking and social interactions may be partially attributable to the activity of a receptor inside brain cells,
highlighted with green in this image.
Some brain regions retain enhanced ability to make new connections
Some brain regions in adults retain a childlike ability to establish new connections, potentially contributing to our ability to learn new skills and form new memories as we age, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Allen Institute for Brain Sciences in Seattle.
Remembering to remember supported by two distinct brain processes
New research from Washington University in St. Louis sheds light on the brain mechanisms that underlie a type of memory, known as prospective memory, revealing two distinct processes that support our ability to remember to remember.
Improving undergraduate STEM education is focus of new national initiative
Washington University in St. Louis is one of eight Association of American Universities (AAU) member campuses selected to serve as project sites for the association’s five-year initiative to improve the quality of undergraduate education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields at its member institutions, AAU officials announced today.
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