![]() We suspect this is where context-binding actually occurs, especially given that the hippocampus receives inputs from virtually all other brain regions, enabling associations between different sights, smells, physical sensations, and emotions.Ī competing theory, known as systems consolidation theory, instead proposes that memories are initially stored in the hippocampus but are gradually transferred and strengthened in other brain regions over time. ![]() People with damage to a region in the centre of the brain called the hippocampus are often unable to form new memories. How memories are formed and retrieved by the brain revealed in a new studyĬontextual-binding theory can potentially explain a host of other phenomena, such as the effects of brain damage on memory. This pays off later, when you’re sitting in the exam hall desperately trying to recall the chemical formula for potassium permanganate, because your current state of context will be more likely to match one of the many states of context in which you so diligently did your chemistry revision. This is one of the main reasons why, when preparing for exams, a regular study routine is more effective than cramming.Īccording to the theory, rapidly repeated material is associated with a single state of context, whereas material repeated across different times and events is associated with several different states of context. More than a century’s worth of studies have confirmed we are also better at remembering things if we experience them at different times, rather than repeatedly in quick session. Experiments have confirmed that memory is enhanced when your current mood matches the mood in which you learned the information. This is because your mood and emotions also comprise your mental context. ![]() You may have noticed that when you’re sad about something, you tend to remember other sad events from your life. This phenomenon isn’t limited to physical locations. ![]() On land, their recall was best for the words they had learned on land, whereas underwater they were better at remembering the word lists they learned underwater. The happiest days of your life, right? Giedre Vaitekuna/ShutterstockĬontext-dependent memory was confirmed by an ingenious 1975 experiment in which divers memorised lists of words and were then tested both on land and underwater. This is why those old memories come flooding back when you step into your childhood bedroom or walk past your old school. If you can change your context to resemble those from seemingly long-forgotten memories, you should be able to remember them. This explains why it’s harder to remember older events.īut, of course, older memories aren’t permanently forgotten. Because your mental context is always changing, your mental context will be most similar to recently experienced memories. According to the theory, you’re most likely to remember memories from contexts that are similar to the context you’re in now. These mechanisms are simple, but the implications are profound. In any given situation, your brain is rapidly rifling through your memories for ones that most closely resemble your current state of context. During memory search, your current mental context is your set of search terms. Your brain’s memory search process is rather like a Google search, in that you’re more likely to find what you’re looking for if your search terms closely match the source content. This similarity between contexts is important when it comes to retrieving memories. However, some context states will be similar to each other – perhaps because they share the same location, or mood, or have some other factor in common. Even as you read this page, changes in your thoughts and mental activity are causing your mental context to change.Īs a consequence, each memory is associated with different states of context. What is context? It’s not just your physical location – it’s a mental state that also comprises the thoughts, emotions, and other mental activity you’re experiencing at a given moment. Contextual-binding theory goes a step further: A and B are associated not just with one other, but also with the context in which they occurred. If A and B occur together, they become associated. It is well established that learning in the brain happens by a process of association.
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