Researchers at the University of Toronto are responsible for developing an app called HippoCamera, which helps to significantly improve memory recall. The app mimics the function of the brain’s hippocampus in memory construction and retention by increasing the attention to regular events and consolidating them more distinctly.
In a two-step process, users record a short video of a moment they want to remember, while the footage is accompanied by a brief eight-second audio description of the event. The app then combines the two elements to mimic processes of hippocampal function and to facilitate efficient review. NeuroscienceNews.com brings us all the details about the invention.
Morgan Barense, a co-author of the new study, explained, as NeuroscienceNews.com quotes:
We found that memories with an associated HippoCamera cue were long-lasting, and that it worked for everyone in the study—healthy older adults, those starting to show cognitive decline and even one case with severe amnesia due to an acquired brain injury,
Many months after the initial part of the study ended, and participants had not watched their HippoCamera cues, they were able to recall these memories in rich detail.
A study appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that those using the app regularly can enable the recall of more than 50% more details about daily experiences that occurred as many as six months earlier than in the possible cases of the subjects only recording events and never replaying them.
Memory problems can occur in people of all ages and can be caused by a variety of factors. Some common causes of memory problems include aging, stress, lack of sleep, depression, anxiety, certain medications, and medical conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, traumatic brain injury, and stroke. Additionally, certain lifestyle factors, such as poor nutrition and lack of physical exercise, can also contribute to memory problems. However, memory problems can also be temporary and can be improved by addressing the underlying cause.
