The long-held theory that our brains use different mechanisms for forming long-term and short-term memories has been challenged by new research.
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November 10, 2009
September 16, 2009
Direct Evidence Of Role Of Sleep In Memory Formation Is Uncovered
A research team has pinpointed for the first time the mechanism that takes place during sleep that causes learning and memory formation to occur. The team has determined that short transient brain events, called "sharp wave ripples," are responsible for consolidating memory and transferring the learned information from the hippocampus to the neocortex, where long-term memories are stored.
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June 25, 2009
Sleep Helps Build Long-Term Memories - Picower Institute Study Strengthens Link Between Sleep, Memory Formation
Experts have long suspected that part of the process of turning fleeting short-term memories into lasting long-term memories occurs during sleep. Now, researchers at the RIKEN-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics of MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory have shown that mice prevented from "replaying" their waking experiences while asleep do not remember them as well as mice who are ab
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May 9, 2009
Drugs That Target HDAC2 Gene Reversed Alzheimer’s In Mice
Building on earlier research where mice with symptoms of Alzheimer's disease regained long-term memories and the ability to learn, US researchers have now pinpointed the exact gene involved and shown that drugs that target the gene reverse the effect of Alzheimer's and boost cognitive function in mice.
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May 6, 2009
Gene Key To Alzheimer’s-like Reversal Identified: Success In Restoring Memories In Mice Could Lead To Human Treatments
Scientists have now pinpointed the exact gene responsible for a 2007 breakthrough in which mice with symptoms of Alzheimer's disease regained long-term memories and the ability to learn.
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April 30, 2009
Sudden Death Of Some Short-Term Memories
The human brain stores some kinds of memories for a lifetime. But when our eyes are open and looking at things, our gray matter also creates temporary memories that help us process complex tasks during the few seconds these visual memories exist. For decades, scientists have held that such short-term memories don't suddenly disappear, but grow gradually more imprecise over the course of several s
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April 29, 2009
Some Short-term Memories Die Suddenly, No Fading
Researchers have found that the temporary, working memories that the brain uses to process visual information may last for several seconds with little or no loss of precision. After that, they begin to wink out, but remain accurate until they disappear.
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April 28, 2009
Dietary Fats Trigger Long-Term Memory Formation
Having strong memories of that rich, delicious dessert you ate last night? If so, you shouldn't feel like a glutton. It's only natural. UC Irvine researchers have found that eating fat-rich foods triggers the formation of long-term memories of that activity. The study adds to their recent work linking dietary fats to appetite control and may herald new approaches for treating obesity and other
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