The unexpected result is that the brain is hugely affected by
essentially external effects way more than seems likely. A big one
for me is to know that merely walking through a door can erase short
term data.
So adding a physical activity to a memory training activity is
potentially useful. Part of that could be simply be that the body
hates been idle while the brain is working.
Thus I find that pondering a target problem goes best while the body
is engaged in merely walking. Trying the same thing while the body
is idle merely produces jitters.
There is a lot to learn here from empirical work so expect surprises.
Clenching fists
'can improve memory'
By Helen BriggsBBC
News
24 April 2013 Last
updated at 22:15 ET
Clenching the fist
temporarily changes brain function
The experiments
50 right-handed
students were given a list of words to learn.
They were divided
into five groups.
One group clenched
their right fist for about 90 seconds before memorising the list and
then did the same before recollecting the words.
A second group
carried out the same test, but with the left hand.
Two other groups
clenched one hand prior to learning the words (either the left or
right hand) and the opposite hand prior to recollecting.
A control group did
not clench their fists at all.
The group that
clenched their right fist when memorising the list and then clenched
the left when recollecting the words performed better than all the
other hand clenching groups.
This group also did
better than the group that did not clench their fists at all, though
this difference was not statistically 'significant'.
Clenching the right
hand for 90 seconds helps in memory formation, while the same
movement in the left improves memory recall, say US psychologists.
In an experiment, 50
adults performed better at remembering words from a long list when
they carried out these movements.
The researchers think
clenching a fist activates specific brain regions that are associated
with memory processing.
Lead scientist Ruth Propper, of Montclair State University,
Montclair, New Jersey, said the research suggests simple body
movements can improve memory by temporarily changing the way the
brain functions.
"Clenching your
right hand immediately prior to learning information and clenching
your left hand immediately before recalling it would be helpful to
improve memory," Dr Propper told BBC News.
Past research has
shown that right hand clenching activates the left hemisphere of the
brain, while left hand clenching activates the right hemisphere.
This has been
associated with emotions - for example right hand clenching with
happiness or anger, and left hand clenching with sadness or anxiety.
Memory processing is
thought to use both sides of the brain - the left for encoding
memories and the right for retrieving them.
Future research will
examine whether hand clenching can also improve other mental
processes, for example verbal or spatial abilities, and memory of
pictures and places, as well as words.
However, more work
needs to be done in more subjects to be certain of the results.
Prof Neil Burgess, of
University College London Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, said a
larger study was needed to be certain of a specific effect on memory.
This should include
brain scans to look at blood flow to the left or right hemispheres of
the brain.
Commenting on the
study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, he said: "Ideally
replication would use a more powerful design (i.e. more people or a
within-subjects design) and include fMRI (functional magnetic
resonance imaging to measures brain activity) verification of the
effect on blood flow."
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