Scientists use MAGNETS to help people retrieve ‘lost’ memories

Scientists use MAGNETS to help people retrieve ‘lost’ memories

Someone reads a phone number out to you, and you dial the number to ring it, but ten minutes later, would you still remember that number?

Understanding what kind of information the brain stores, and what it keeps handy for easy access is not fully understood, but a new study shines light on the concept.

The study says certain memories thought forgotten could be brought back to attention, using magnets.

The researchers were able to snap the information back into active attention with magnets.

This work could help treat people with schizophrenia or depression, by finding new ways to control people's thoughts.

'A lot of mental illness is associated with the inability to choose what to think about,' said lead author Brad Postle, a psychology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. '

'For example depression with rumination on negative thoughts; schizophrenia with hallucinations, which amount to attending to and thinking about 'noisy' signals in the brain that psychiatrically healthy people can ignore.

Full article from Dailymail