Recalling information immediately after having knowledge of it may be all we need to make it a permanent memory, according to the latest study carried out by the University of Sussex (United Kingdom) whose conclusion states that in our The brain activates the same area both when we are remembering something and when it becomes a long-term or lasting memory .
For their research, the experts had the participation of 26 volunteers to whom they put a series of short videos of about 40 seconds from the YouTube platform and with a narrative element (for example, a couple of neighbors playing tricks on each other ). The participants watched 20 videos for which they had 40 seconds between video and video to remember the most striking details of them. Then, they were shown 6 videos over 40 seconds but with no rest space between them.
Two weeks later, the participants were still able to recall a great deal of detail from the videos for which they had had time to recall , while the content of the other 6 videos had been practically completely forgotten.
Magnetic resonance imaging tests during the experiment revealed, in turn, that the cingulate cortex was the most active area of the brain during the observation of the videos and also in the recall process . Thus, these results were repeated weeks later when the volunteers were asked to recall key details from the observed videos. The cingulate cortex was still the common factor and that is that this region not only helps us to remember the details of an event but also to integrate these memories into our knowledge and understanding, making them resistant to forgetting.
“ We know that recent memories are susceptible to being lost. In this study we have shown that a short period of rehearsal or recall has a huge effect on our ability to recall complex real events in periods of 1-2 weeks, ”explains Chris Bird, leader of the study.
In the face of any situation that has a decisive implication, such as being a witness to a crime or an accident , it would be convenient to take into account these conclusions published by the journal The Jounal of Neuroscience , since the memory of the event will improve significantly if the witness remembers your head the sequence of events as soon as possible after achieving it.
