Science has found a mechanism to help the brain turn experiences into long-term memories, you can also try it

By definition, memory is the ongoing process of retaining information over time, creating a 'script' based on which a person can reason and act in real life. international. Even though we can describe it like that, memories still contain countless mysteries for us.

Some events are clearly stored in the brain even though they happened a long time ago, while there are events that fade into oblivion even though they happened just yesterday. To partially explain this strange mystery, scientists conducted a series of studies, and the report was just published in Science magazine at the end of March.

They discovered that the human brain as well as some other mammals have a mechanism to select life experiences, evaluate which information is important enough to turn it into long-term memories, and what should drift to nothingness?

Illustration of the brain.

Experiments on mice show that while the brain is awake, cells in the hippocampus light up in a pattern that scientists call 'sharp brain waves' , marking important experiences for life. Helps the brain save them during sleep.

Although the study was conducted in mice, certain mammalian brain processes have not changed much throughout evolution, so the new findings may reveal something about how the brain human activity. This is the opinion of the author of the scientific report, neuroscience professor György Buzsáki.

In the experiment, Professor Buzsáki and his colleagues had mice find their way out of a maze, with sweet bait placed at the exit. Electrodes attached to the mouse's brain are used to monitor the mouse's brain signals during the 'escape' process, and record data to a computer.

The research team observed that when mice stopped eating, the above sharp ripples appeared repeatedly in the brain, sometimes up to 20 times. While the mice slept, these ripples were 'replayed' in the brain: this is the brain's process of converting the mice's morning experiences into long-term memories.

You can also try actively creating "brain waves that mark experiences", to help the brain form long-term memories - (Illustration).

Thanks to sleep, the brain determines which experiences are important enough to turn into memories . The researchers also noticed that events that did not produce sharp brain waves were not utilized. According to Professor Buzsáki, the event marked a memorable event that took place unconsciously in the morning.

' The brain makes its own decisions, not us actively doing so ,' the professor said.

However, researchers say we still have our own ways to increase our chances of turning experiences into long-term memories.

According to Mr. Buzsáki, if we pause for a moment after an experience (like what the rats in the experiment did), this action can help the brain turn the event into a long-term memory. The brain needs a period of relaxation, without focusing on anything, so that sharp brain waves have a chance to form.

Using a real-life example, Mr. Buzsáki said that if you watch a television season continuously, you will only remember the last episode you watched. ' If you want to remember a movie you just watched, you should take a little walk ,' the professor said.