Memory Systems

Memory Systems

A model of a human brain and a heart are shown side by side, connected by circular arrows indicating a relationship or interaction between them.
6mins
You've heard of the mind-body connection. But have you ever actually tried to understand your own? Three scientists break down the feedback loop running your brain and body — and what becomes possible when you learn to use it.
Unlikely Collaborators
A digital illustration of a human head in profile showing a highlighted section of the brain with a bright light beam focused on a specific point inside the brain.
6mins
The voice in your head feels like your own, but it’s actually constructed by neurological processes. Three experts explain how this system shapes both perception and identity.
Unlikely Collaborators
A person stands next to a large book titled "The Knowledge," symbolizing mastery of the city’s map.
One of the toughest vocational exams in the world requires candidates to memorize 25,000 streets in an area five times the size of Manhattan.
A digital illustration of a human brain next to a crescent moon on a dark background.
3mins
Sleeping better helps you think better, which helps you live better. Three experts explain why quality sleep is imperative to brain function, problem solving, communication, and more.
Unlikely Collaborators
A four-panel image featuring orange chevrons, a detective silhouette with a magnifying glass, a grayscale portrait of a woman, and a stylized eye on a green background.
Members
In this expert class, writer Maria Konnikova explores how Sherlock Holmes's rational sleuthing techniques can be applied to real-world science, enhancing our understanding of memory, creativity, and problem-solving.
A person stands facing a wall covered in sticky notes on the left; abstract blue and white sparkling patterns form a striking nexus on the right side of the image.
When your head is full of information, how can you actually make use of it?
Illustration of a brain with highlighted regions overlaid on a close-up image of blue synapses and neurons, representing neural communication.
2mins
Your brain changes when you experience something, and it changes again when you remember it. Two neuroscientists explain what that means for memory, perception, and identity.
Unlikely Collaborators
A child rests peacefully on a bed adorned with red and white striped sheets, wearing a blue outfit. It's as if their dreams are in sleep replay, caught in the tranquil rhythm of slumber, lying contentedly on their stomach.
Participants’ brains revealed they were doing a kind of “neural replay” of the game they had been manipulated to win.
Collage with a smiling woman, a couple, a person lying down, another couple, and a decorative key with a flower on a textured background.
"I am free. It's a lot of effort to be free from the prison that is in your mind, and the key is in your pocket." - Edith Eva Eger
A wooden box filled with assorted old black-and-white photographs and postcards.
Changing the narrative on false memories might be surprisingly simple.
A book spread showing a painting of a person, eyes filled with curiosity, looking outside on the left and four brain scan images on the right, overlaid on an orange background.
Research suggests curiosity triggers parts of the brain associated with anticipation, making answers more rewarding once discovered.
A black and white portrait of a man with a large mustache is overlaid on a green collage containing a baseball and a baseball field, subtly evoking the philosophy of hindsight.
Whenever something goes wrong — in business as in life — we tend to get cause and effect totally muddled up.
Illustration of a conceptual model showing factors like novelty, surprise, importance, emotion, flashbulb memories, and overt rehearsal linked to memory retention, symbolized by a brain icon.
An excerpt from “Memory,” a primer on human memory, its workings, feats, and flaws, by two leading psychological researchers.
An abstract digital collage inspired by alien abduction stories, with a monochrome vinyl record at the center surrounded by colorful, glitch-like textures and shapes.
The truth may be out there — but it’s not in these close encounters of the third kind.
A photo capturing the memory of a woman standing in front of a body of water.
Memories aren’t mental recordings, but pliable information we can use to better manage the present and conjure future possibilities.
A black and white photo of a person's brain.
Here's the thorny reality behind psychedelics' ability to unearth buried memories.
A black and white photo of a man and a woman to memorize.
To make a ton of information stick in your mind, you have to make it chunky.
A clock hanging from a wall.
Research suggests you can influence your sense of time by changing the “embodiedness” of your daily habits.
A silhouette of a person standing out amidst a crowd, evoking memories and exploring the complexities of consciousness.
High-frequency oscillations that ripple through our brains may generate memory and conscious experience.
A man with glasses and a brain in front of a yellow background.
6mins
There are three kinds of memory that all work together to shape your reality. Neuroscientist André Fenton explains.
Unlikely Collaborators
A bunch of colorful signs in a display.
After my father died, my journey of rediscovery began with the Czech language.
A collage of people learning and working on a computer.
Your brain is not an obsolete piece of technology. Once properly trained for learning, it’s your ticket to navigating the AI landscape.
A photo of a woman with a purple and black background, capturing the spirit of memory athletes.
Katie Kermode — a memory athlete with four world records — tells Big Think about her unique spin on an ancient technique to memorize unfathomably long lists of information.
An old photo of a man standing next to an old car showcasing adaptive plasticity.
If you want to achieve new goals, harness your brain's ability to change chemically, structurally, and functionally.
A photo of a brain with false memories.
We are prone to false memories. One reason is that we are biased toward remembering tidy endings for events, even if they didn't exist.
A girl in a blue jacket raises her hand in class, demonstrating language proficiency and recall.
Language influences how you visually process the world, which in turn influences your memory of it.
A painting depicting sleep deprivation and a woman asleep at a table.
Bad news: Sleeping in on the weekends probably won't cut it.