Summary: Déjà vu—the eerie feeling that a new moment has happened before—has puzzled scientists and philosophers for centuries. Neuroscientists now believe it’s a normal brain glitch tied to how memory…
Category: Memory
How Growing Up Changes the Way We Hear, and Feel, Music
Summary: Our music preferences evolve across life — from youthful exploration to nostalgic reflection. A large-scale analysis of 40,000 users’ streaming data over 15 years revealed that young listeners engage…
Positive Memories Boost Musicians’ Performance by Reframing Stress
Summary: A new study reveals that recalling positive memories before stepping on stage can significantly boost musicians’ performance. Professional wind instrumentalists who reflected on positive experiences showed higher nervous system…
Hormonal Contraceptives Influence Memory of Emotional Events
Summary: A new study reveals that hormonal contraceptives may shape both emotional responses and memory processing in women. Compared with naturally cycling women, users of hormonal birth control had stronger…
Inside the Minds That Never Forget: Exploring Hyperthymesia
Summary: Autobiographical memory allows us to relive experiences, form identity, and project into the future. A rare few, known as hyperthymesics, can recall events from their lives with remarkable precision,…
Brain Criticality May Hold Key to Learning, Memory, and Alzheimer’s
Summary: New research proposes a unified theory of brain function based on criticality—a state where the brain teeters between order and chaos, allowing it to learn, adapt, and process information…
How Music Can Emotionally Reshape Your Memories
Summary: A new neuroscience study reveals that music can alter the emotional content of our memories when played during recollection. Participants who listened to emotionally charged music while recalling neutral…
Verbal Abuse in Childhood Rewires the Developing Brain
Summary: New neuroscience research highlights how verbal abuse in childhood can alter brain development and increase the risk of mental health issues later in life. Children who are routinely shamed,…
How Sleep Rewrites the Brain to Strengthen and Optimize Memories
Summary: A new study reveals how the brain reprocesses and refines memories during sleep, particularly those related to spatial learning. Researchers tracked rats’ hippocampal neuron activity for up to 20…
Classical vs. Operant Conditioning: The Brain’s Memory Tug-of-War
Summary: Classical and operant conditioning compete in the brain, preventing simultaneous learning of conflicting actions. Using fruit flies, researchers demonstrated that attempting to teach both types of learning simultaneously results…
