Memory

Manipulating brain cells called astrocytes using light prevented the retention of fear memories long-term, according to new research. This opens the door to potential treatments for conditions like PTSD, which is characterized by abnormal fear memory.

Memories can form outside of the brain, according to new research. Non-brain cells exposed to chemical pulses similar to the ones that brain cells are exposed to when presented with new information caused the non-brain cells to switch on a gene critical for memory formation.

Fascinating new findings uncover how clusters of 'brain stars' retain our learnings – and it changes what we previously understood about how memories are held and retrieved in our minds. The medical implications of this are vast.

Combining VR and non-invasive deep-brain electrical stimulation, has improved memory – the kind that remembers where you left the car keys - in healthy people. The approach has great potential as a surgery- and drug-free treatment for cognitive decline

Music can enhance our ability to learn new information and positively alter existing memories, according to two recent studies. The findings could inform music-based interventions for conditions such as PTSD, depression and dementia.

Like a computer system with built-in redundancies, a study has revealed that brains use three different sets of neurons to store a single memory. The finding could one day help soften painful memories in people who've suffered trauma.

Researchers have identified an enzyme that's key to updating existing memories with new information, a process that declines naturally with age. Blocking the enzyme reduced memory impairment, opening the door to developing treatments for age-related memory problems.

Instead of focusing on fighting the plaques linked to Alzheimer's, researchers took a look at boosting electrical oscillations in the brain. The molecule they invented got the job done in mice, offering hope for a new treatment path for humans.

Time is relative – we’re all familiar with that feeling that time drags when we’re bored and flies when we’re busy. New analysis of brain activity patterns shows how our brains track time, and some intriguing insights into how cells handle it.

Memories seemingly lost as a result of sleep deprivation were restored using existing drugs used to treat asthma and erectile dysfunction, according to new research. The research suggests these memories are merely hidden, not lost, and offers a way to retrieve them.

Eating junk food during the crucial years of brain development impairs memory into adulthood, even when reverting to a healthy diet, new research has found. The impairment is caused by reduction in a neurotransmitter linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

Even mild cases of COVID cause significant, measurable cognitive deficits compared to those never infected with the virus, according to one of the largest studies of its type. COVID brain fog is real, and it can sap up to six IQ points for at least a year.