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BOB HIRSHON (Host):
Bundling memories. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update.
Think back to great meal you had, and you might remember not only the food, but also the room you were in, and maybe a story someone shared while you dined. In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, UC Davis cognitive neuroscientist Tanya Jonker and her colleagues explain how this memory-bundling occurs, and how the very act of remembering reinforces it.
TANYA JONKER (UC Davis):
And we were able to demonstrate that when you are recalling you are in fact reactivating all of this rich contextual information, and you are binding it together, making that whole memory a more stable event in your mind.
HIRSHON:
They used brain imaging technology to reveal how thinking back on a very specific memory automatically activates other, associated memories, and strengthens connections between them. The work could have implications for the treatment of memory disorders. I’m Bob Hirshon, for AAAS, the science society.
Story by Bob Hirshon