Yesterday was all about the positive effects of exercise on brain function. Today the focus is on honing and improving one of the brain’s essential processes: memory.

If you, like me, have ever struggled to remember something, the problem may not be that the name or idea slipped your mind, but that your brain was not prepared to retain the memory in the first place.

Neuroscientists have recently found that successful memory formation depends not only on your frame of mind during and after the event in question, but also before it even takes place.

“People didn’t realize that what the brain does before something happens influences the memory of that event,” said lead researcher Leun Otten of University College in London. “They looked just at the response.”

If your brain is prepared or primed to receive information it will be easier for data to be stored, which makes it easier for you to recall the name of that great restaurant you ate at three years ago.

Unfortunately, the exact way to prepare your brain for memories is still unclear, but scientists agree that actively thinking about something — rather than quickly cramming information in or scanning data with little concentration — is the one of the best memory primers. “Always try to focus on understanding what is written; don’t just regurgitate,” Otten said, “because concentrating on meaning is a far better primer for memory.”

An easy memory improvement exercise is to actually absorb the meaning of everything you read instead of allowing your mind to wander while your eyes scan the page. It’s more challenging than it looks.

[via Nature]

Image: Nationaled.net