An Exciting Use for State-Dependent Memory: Showing how state of mind directly affects how a memory is stored and retrieved!

Could recreating "state-of-mind" help recover and treat issues from repressed memories?

Many of us are aware that the human brain is capable of taking traumatic memories and hiding them from our conscious. However, almost just as many of us are not aware of how.

State-dependent memory or learning is a process that is believed to aid in the creation of memories that are inaccessible to consciousness. State-dependent memory, or state-dependent learning is the phenomenon through which memory retrieval is most efficient when an individual is in the same state of consciousness as they were when the memory was formed ( Russell Dewey, State-Dependent Memory, 2007)

This process takes place in the GABA System of the brain. State-dependent memory shows that state of mind can directly affect the way that memory is encoded. This illustrates that there are several pathways to memory retrieval.

All working together properly this system proves to balance out quite a bit of the brain’s activity being directly linked to the nervous system while, at the same time playing a role in memory. The system breaks down like this:

Glutamate, works with synaptic GABA. Both are highly present in the brain and play a major roll. Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter, where, synaptic GABA is an inhibitory. If Glutamate only was present, we would be far to excitable. Synaptic GABA works to balance things out. A second GABA, extra synaptic GABA does this as well as contributes in encoding inaccessible memories.

“Findings show there are multiple pathways to storage of fear-inducing memories, and we identified an important one for fear-related memories,” said principal investigator Dr. Jelena Radulovic, the Dunbar Professor in Bipolar Disease at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

A study at Berkley in California demonstrated that the most efficient way to retrieve the memories in this system is to return the brain to the same state of consciousness as when the memory was encoded.

This Information provides great hope to Psychology. Especially in regards to patients with repressed memories that are adversely affecting their mental health.

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Your Memory Palace: Method of Loci

Brain Science: An Amazing Memory Enhancing Technique!
Can visualizing a familiar place really help you remember important things?

The method of loci, also called the memory palace, is a mnemonic device introduced in ancient Roman rhetorical treatises. It relies on memorized spatial  relationships to establish order and recollect memorial content. The term is most often found in specialized works on psychology, neurology, and memory, though it was used in the same general way at least as early as the first half of the nineteenth century in works on rhetoric, logic, and philosophy.

Method of loci is also commonly called the mental walk. It is a method of memory enrichment which uses visualization to organize and recall information. Various memory contest champions claim to use this technique in order to recall faces, digits, and lists of words. These champions’ successes have to do more with brain structure than intelligence. The technique of using regions of their brain that have to do with spatial learning are the source of the success. These techniques can be learned and utilized by anyone and the younger the learner the more they have an opportunity to develop this skill into a habit.

To use the method of loci bring to mind a familiar building, such as your house. Take a moment to conduct a mental walk through the rooms in your house. Pay particular attention to the details, noticing anything particularly pleasing that make your mental images more vivid. Make sure you can move easily from one room to another.

Along your route create a list of "loci”:i.e. well defined parts of the room that you can use later to memorize things. A locus should be the pleasing things previously mentioned, but can be anything that stands out, a door, a bed, an oven, etc. Be sure that you can easily go from locus to locus as you visit the house.

Now, when you are faced with a list of words or ideas to be memorized, you must form visual images for each of the words and place them, in order, on the loci in your route. To recall the words or ideas you take a mental walk throughout your house, asking yourself, "What is on the living-room door? What's on the bed? What's in the oven?"  assign everthing on your list to a locus.

Don’t believe that it will work? Let’s try! The list that I am about to give you has seven items on it. Before reading the list I want you to choose a place (like suggested above) that is very familiar to you.

 Got the place?

 Now imagine at least seven very distinct locations within your familiar place. 

Got it all? 

 Once you read the list, assign the first item to the first location, the second item to the second location, and so on. Take a few moments to really visualize each item in each place.

1. Oranges

2. Bread

3. Chicken

4. Corn

5. Milk

6. Eggs

7. Pop

Now that you have each item assigned to a particular place do a final “walk trough” while vividly picturing your items and location. I’ll wait…………… 

Think well, you will be asked to recall....

Got it?

 Ok, now grab pen and paper (you will need it later), continue reading, and at the end we will see how well you remember!

The method of loci can be used for much more than simple single concept lists. It can also be used as something of a navigational map through more complex ideas which will come in handy for college students or those studying to give their current career a boost. You basically follow the same steps that I have listed, but instead of assigning single concept words to each location you will assign key words or phrases that are relatable to whatever it is that you are trying to learn.

Another important thing to keep in mind is that the method for memory described in this article is just one method. To fully develop your brain"s potential it is important to research all methods, find what works for you and use a combination of several methods.

Ready for recall? Without looking at the list given, picture your house or building and begin your mental walk again.

 Can you remember?

 With your pen and paper, recall all that you can from the list of items. Order is relevant since you wanted to match the items in order with the locations. However, to start just remembering all or most of the items is most important. When your list is complete reference it to the list above. Good Luck!
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