CAMBRIDGE, England, March 16 (UPI) -- A new study finds that consciously trying to remember something forces another memory to weaken.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom had 24 participants intentionally associate certain words and images while in a brain scanner. By taking count of which associations they were able to recall over several stages of testing, they were able to demonstrate how certain memories remained and others weakened. They found trying to remember certain associations made other associations more difficult to recall.
"People are used to thinking of forgetting as something passive," said Dr. Michael Anderson from the University of Cambridge. "Our research reveals that people are more engaged than they realize in shaping what they remember of their lives. The idea that the very act of remembering can cause forgetting is surprising, and could tell us more about selective memory and even self-deception."
"Forgetting is often viewed as a negative thing, but of course, it can be incredibly useful when trying to overcome a negative memory from our past," said Dr. Maria Wimber from the University of Birmingham. "So there are opportunities for this to be applied in areas to really help people."
The study is published in Nature Neuroscience.
