The Brain Size

The human brains weighs about 1400 g and is estimated to contain around 100 billion neurons, each of which connects with around 10,000 others in branching networks.

A great deal has been said about brain size and its relationship to mental capacity and intelligence.

The brain has long undergone the process of evolution. The brain has not only increased in size, but also in its level of organization, sophistication and complexity.

However, the increase size of the brain, not necessarily an indication of increased intelligence.

The absolute size of the brain has very little meaning, since an elephant’s brain is obviously very much heavier than that of any other mammal.

However, as a general rule, the bigger the animal, the bigger the brain. Its look like that the bigger the body requires a larger brain to control the larger muscles.

For comparative studies, a more meaningful ,measure has been used in which brain weight is related to body weight.

However, there is currently no general agreement about whether relative brain size can be correlated with intelligence or mental ability.

The weight of an elephant’s brain is only 0.2 per cent of its body weight. It turns out that of all the mammals, the tree shrew, a small mouse like anima of nor great distinction or intellectual or otherwise - has the biggest relative brain size, 3 per cent of body weight.

The size of the brain is independent of the stature of the individual; that the size of the brain is also independent of sex, although since the tine of Aristotle, it has been the custom to repeat that the female brain is smaller than that of the male.
The Brain Size

Constructing Memory

Constructivist approach describes memory as the combined influences of the world and the person’s own ideas and expectations.

Elaboration may take place during both encoding and retrieval. And it need not be an exact reproduction.

For example, the experience of each person while they are watching a film will be somewhat different because they are different individual. Drawing upon different personal pasts, and with different values, thoughts, goals, feeling , expectations, moods and past experiences.

Human memories are seldom precise representations or reliable replicas of past events Sometimes, they recall less than previously experienced because of some source of forgetting. At other times, however, memory may include even more information than human originally experienced when these memories first were formed.

But some times it might be associated with enhanced sensitivity for ‘false positives’, memory constructions that include new association that were not present in the original situation, as in false memories.

What ever it means, in general constructive memory is the utilization of one’s general knowledge to provide a more complete and detailed description of some remembered event or situation.
Constructing Memory

Frederick Bartlett

Frederick Bartlett (1886-1969) published a pioneering text entitled ‘Remembering’ in 1932.

It was groundbreaking because, unlike any of the aforementioned historical he suggested that recall is not just the reactivation of events from some sort of ‘storage bin’ but a whole new reprocessing in its own right.’

He argued that we use existing ‘structures of knowledge’ - concept called schemas, to help in the ‘reforming’ of the original memories. With this theory it has allowed for developing information processing theories.

Therefore our attitudes, expectations, belief and levels of motivation will highly influence the way in which we remember.
Frederick Bartlett

What is metamemory?

What is metamemory?
The term metamemory refers to knowledge of memory and memory process. It is knowing, for example, what one’s memory limits are, which memory strategies are more or less effective, and which memory tasks are more or less difficult. Memory also includes being able to plan and control memory process consciously as one in learning and remembering.

Metamemory is part of metacognition, knowledge the human mind and of the whole range of cognitive processes. The store of metacognitive knowledge might include an understanding that you are better at word problems than at math problems, that it is harder to pay attention to what are trying to learn when there is distracting noise in the background than when it is quiet, and that it is wise to check out a proposed solution to a problem before concluding it is correct.
What is metamemory?

Even Mild Concussions Cause Memory Loss in High School Athletes

Even Mild Concussions Cause Memory Loss in High School Athletes
For teenage athletes, even mild concussions can cause memory problems lasting up to a week. The first study of its kind evaluates the effects of and recovery from mild head injuries in high school sports. The short-term effects are more serious than most people realize, scientists say.

Concussions are head injuries caused by a blow to the head and can result in brain damage. Sometimes a victim suffers varying states of consciousness, or none at all. There also may be confusion, dizziness, and memory loss.

Victims of mild concussion are typically high school athletes between ages 13 and 18 who play contact sports, suggesting greater vulnerability to severe injury in that age group, Lovell points out. Mild concussions are the most common types of concussions and are frequently overlooked or unrecognized because the player often returns to play during the same game or match.

Animal studies have shown that changes in brain chemistry persist seven days or more after mild injury. Studies have also suggested that if the brain has not had time to heal, it will be more susceptible to further, more serious damage. But current return-to-play guidelines frequently used nationwide suggest a player return to the field after mild concussions if symptoms disappear after 15 minutes.
Even Mild Concussions Cause Memory Loss in High School Athletes

5 ways to improve memory for students

5 ways to improve memory for students
1. Study with short breaksTake short breaks while studying.
Do not study continuously for more than 30 to 45 minutes. Give a break of five to ten minutes in between two sessions. Such short breaks give rest to your brain and help it to reinforce what you are learning. This will make it easy for you to understand more and remember better. Do not read any new information during these short breaks. Just relax or walk around.

2. Explain to yourselfExplain what you study to yourself.
Pretend you are both the student and the teacher, and try to explain the chapter or study topic to yourself. This kind of ‘explaining’ automatically helps you to learn the subject in detail. Hence you will remember it clearly.

3. DiscussDiscuss important study topics with a willing classmate.
Holding such discussion will jog your memory. This is like another form of revision. Also, you will become aware of important points about those study topics. This will help both you and your classmate to learn more and remember more.

4. Sleep well
Yes, sleep cosily. Good sleep is essential for good memory. Recent research has shown that lack of sufficient sleep interferes with memory function. Because during sleep and rest period, our brain processes and consolidates information which it records during the day. So do not skip sleep; especially during the exam days. Sleep for at least six hours. Eight hours is best.

5. Eat well
Now what has eating got to do with remembering more? Simple. What we eat affects our brain’s performance. Poor nutrition leads to learning and memory problems. So make sure you include nutrient-rich food items like--whole grains, nuts, fruits, vegetables, and milk in your diet. This will keep your brain healthy and happy.The above five remedies are easy to follow. They definitely help to strengthen your memory and achieve more success in your studies.
5 ways to improve memory for students

How Would You Like To Improve Your Memory?

How Would You Like To Improve Your Memory?
Forgetful?
Can’t remember where you put things?
Do you forget important dates like your…oops! Anniversary?
Peoples names, birthdays, places, events, what you studied, etc, all draw a blank?
If so, just relax. Don’t get so serious about it. The whole world isn’t about to stop just because you forget a few things, right?

Many people do experience memory problems, regardless of age, sex, or social standing. You didn’t think it was just you, did you? Don’t think only aging people can experience forgetfulness, because everyone can have some memory loss from time to time.

You want a sharper memory? Try these techniques:

1. You have to be interested in what you want to remember or memorize. Let’s say for instance you love to study History more than any other subject. Do you think you would remember History more than your studies in other subjects? Absolutely. By becoming more interested in what you are studying, you are also giving more attention to it. This increases your chances of recalling it again from your memory when you need it.

2. You need to be able to focus well and put your full attention on what you are learning. If you easily get distracted by things around you, it will take you longer to memorize and remember things. Find a quiet place so you can concentrate on what you are reading, learning, or observing.

3. You must use your imagination. Be creative. Learn to visualize what you are reading etc. I don’t mean just get the pictures, really experience it with all your senses. Many memory techniques require the person to think of the most outrageous and exaggerated images to help them remember certain facts or information. The funnier and more out-of-this-world the images, the better chances you will retain data in your mind. Have fun with it!

4. A healthy lifestyle can definitely help. A good diet, regular exercise and enough sleep create a mind that is alert and energetic. It is far easier to recall stuff when your mind is alert and not sleepy. There are also some vitamins that apparently help to improve memory. Check out your local health food store.

5. Visualize some pleasant experiences you had recently. Try to get get the sensations at the time, the feelings, the emotions, the smells, the sounds, the sights, the colors. This will freshen your mind and make it easier to retain information.
Let me know how it goes.

Source:articlecity.com
How Would You Like To Improve Your Memory?

The Brain

The human brain, as anyone knows, is an organ the size of a small melon located in the head.

It is protected by the skull can be a series of membranes this sheets of cells between the bone and brain matter, bathed in a liquid called the cerebrospinal fluid (SCF).

This colorless liquid, which consists mainly of water with various proteins, salts and small molecules, fills the ventricles, helps transport material, to the brain and removes debris.

The inward transport actually begins with cerebral blood flow, which carries oxygen from the lungs and nutrients from the food in the stomach to the brain and spinal cord – the central nervous system.

The skull membranes and CSF also hold the brain matter together and provide some cushioning against sudden jolts.

The brain itself is fairly soft, with the consistency of a soft boiled egg.

Since many people have seem animal brains either frozen in butcher’s shops or as anatomical specimens pickled in formaldehyde or preserved in alcohol, there is a general impression that the brain is more solid that it actually is.

The brain has a whitish color, flecked with pink, due to the blood in the small capillaries at its surface.

This external surface, as is seen in so many drawings or models, is deeply furrowed and crisscrossed by an intricate pattern of ridges and valleys, giving it the appearance of a very large walnut.

In monkeys, apes and particularly humans, these convolutions increase the surface of the outer layer of the brain.

This is one of the most important ‘improvements’ in the nervous system brought about by evolution.

The brains of mice and rats have a relatively smooth outer surface, while cats and dogs have some indentations.

But it is only monkeys, and particularly apes, that have convolutions that are almost as complex as those of humans.

The brain of a rat is about the size of an almonds and smooth, an when cortex, the outer layer, is peeled off by careful dissection and flatted, it has an are about the size of a large postage stamp.

On the other hand, why the cortex of the human brain is peeled off and flattened it covers an area about the size of a page of newsprint.

The increase in the area of the cortex or outer layer of the brain has the advantage of increasing the number of cells that can be packed into it, while retaining a sheet-like organization.

If the processing of thins such s vision or memory occurs in the cortex, as we believes it does, this gives a distinct advantage to any organism with many furrows of the surface of the brain, i.e. a relatively large number of cortical cells.
The Brain

The Ebbinghaus Tradition

The Ebbinghaus Tradition
Although personal observations and anecdotes about memory can be illuminating and entertaining, they often originate from a specific experience of a given individual.

It is therefore open to question to what degree they are
a) Objectively ‘real’
b) Can be generalized universally, to all individuals.

Systematic scientific research can offer unique insight into these issues. Some of the classic systematic research in memory and forgetting was conducted in the late 18th century by Hermann Ebbinghaus.

Ebbinghaus taught himself 169 separate lists of 13 nonsense syllables.

Each syllable comprised a ‘meaningless’ consonant-vowel-consonant trigram. Ebbinghaus relearned to 31 days. He was especially interested in the extend to which forgetting had occurred over this time period, using the ‘saving score’ (i.e. how much time it took him to relearn the list) as a measure of how much he had forgotten.

Ebbinghaus noted that the rate of forgetting was roughly exponential: that is, forgetting is rapid at first (soon after the material has been learned), but the rate at which information is forgotten gradually decreases.

So the rate of forgetting is logarithmic rather than linear. This observation has stood the test of time well, and has been shown to apply across of range of different materials and learning conditions.

Another interesting feature of memory noted by Ebbinghaus is that, having ‘lost’ information such as some of your French vocabulary, you can learn this information much faster than someone which has never learned French in the first place (i.e. the concept of ‘savings’).

This finding implies that there must be a residual trace of this ‘lost; information in your brain.

This point also attests to the important uissue regarding consius verus unconscious knowledge, we are obviously not conscious of this ‘lost; French vocabulary, but the research findings regarding this preserved information indicate that there must be some retention of the memory record at an unconscious level.

A closely related point is made by the eminent psychologists B. F Skinner when he writes that ‘Education is what survives when what had been learned has been forgotten.’ We might add’.....consciously forgotten but retained in some other residual form’.
The Ebbinghaus Tradition

Memory Bank

Memory Bank
One of the enduring myths about memories is that they are kept in one place in the brain, a memory bank.

At first even scientist assumed that this was the case. But over many decades of research, they realized that this assumption was wrong.

In the 1980s, when the functional brain imaging technology – such as positron emission tomography (PET) scans – became available, scientists could see people’s brains at work for the first time.

They could obtain images of the brain as people performed a variety of tasks, including remembering things.

Researchers discovered that memories are not stored in a single location, but rather are widely distributed in networks throughout the brain, primarily in the cerebral cortex.

The cerebral cortex consists of the outer covering of the two large hemispheres of the brain and is the most highly develop part of the human nervous system.

The cortex contains function to integrate sensory information, control voluntary movements and mediate thinking processes.

Upon further study, scientist learned that different areas of the brain process different kinds of information.

Thus, for most people, language skills are concentrated in the left frontal and temporal lobes toward the front of the brain, while the registration of visual images in the occipital lobe at the back of the brain.

What these findings suggest is that a particular aspect of a memory will most likely to store in a region of the cortex that specializes in processing more or less comparable memories.
Memory Bank

Why do we forget?

Why do we forget?
Can you recall your passport number? Bet, you can’t. Simply, because it is not used everyday.

You will have to make a big effort to seek it out from the bottom of the stack of information that is stored in your brain.

To be remembered easily, information needs to be organized and meaningful, and needs to come to us at a slow pace so as to process it.

The reason for most of the annoying instances of forgetting is that you do not take the trouble to connect new information with some fact you already know.

Isolated facts drop out of the mind quickly but if you file new knowledge in relation to something already established in your mind, you will retain it and be able to refer to it whenever you need it.

It is simply a matter of making special use for your power of association, which is the beginning of all learning processes.

In mental term, the more you associate a fact with other stored information in your mind the better your memory can retain it. Each of its associates becomes a hook on which the new information hangs.

Association is making mental hook from which you may fish facts of your mind as you require them.

The mental filing system will provide the mental hooks upon which to hang, or file, anything you want to remember.

Certain selected called Key Words, are the mental hooks in your filling system. Each of these represent a vivid image.

Let us see what reasons the scientist have attributed to the habit of forgetting. The scientific theory is that people forget more as time passes. This make sense.

According to the scientists we forget things because of certain processes. These process are:
• Interference
• Motivated forgetting
• Retrieval failure
• Constructive process

Why do we forget?

Improve Memory

Improve Memory
Since Greek times, people have been fascinated by memory. Before the widespread availability of portable writing materials, a good memory was vital for many activities.

A political in ancient Athens could nor rely on the projected text, which or television newscasters and US presidents has become routine.

Carefully prepared speeches had to be memorized. The memory methods developed to help in such circumstances provide the basis for modern techniques used by entertainers and described in many books in memory.

Howevert, such methods play a relatively minor in improving memory.

Pencil and paper were not invented for nothing, and still our most valuable eternal memory aids.

In order to improve your memory, you should consider making use of both external and internal memory aids.

Internal aids are strategies for improving your mind’s ability to retain the material you want.

External aids are techniques to relive your mind of the need to remember.
Improve Memory

Memory study by Ancient Greeks

Memory study by Ancient Greeks
The ancient Greeks developed a method of memory improvement that became known as mnemonics after the Greek goddess of memory.

Aristotle published an essay entitled ‘Memory”, in which he attempted to describe the features of recall.

It is proposed by many that this is the first formal attempt at understanding this subject.

Plato likened memory to wax tablet: ‘We hold the wax to perceptions of them.’

Ironically, this idea that a ‘mental impression’ is created inside the mind is strangely similar to modern explanations of memory - the difference being that current views of memory emphasize its dynamic nature, rather than seeing it as static ‘storage bin’ that collects experiences.
Memory study by Ancient Greeks

William James

William James
In 1890, William James published what is regarded by many as the first textbook of psychology.

His comprehensive coverage of the subject contained many topics, including memory.

James believed that memory served a vital function, allowing us to retain certain bits of information invaluable for our survival.

His idea was that we do no need to remember every piece of sensory information we are exposed to, as this would overload us with trivial data.

He went on to suggest that we have two memory systems, ‘primary memory’, a system that allow us to experience consciousness and ‘secondary memory’, a system that allows us to store events from the past.

Access to the primary memory required very little effort, whereas secondary memory required a deliberate effortful act.

James provided with a solid foundation within the field of memory. His notions of a primary and secondary memory system set the scene for what later became interpreted as short term memory and long term memory.

James’s idea about memory did not really start to influence experimental psychology until the 1960s – the reason being that up until this time, behaviorism was the dominant force within psychology.

James’s focus in consciousness and memory did not fit into the objective approach of the behaviorists so his earlier theories tended to be ignored.
William James

Acquisition of Information

Acquisition of Information
To remember any thong, you must first learn. When new information is learned, or acquired, it first takes the form of temporary pathways of nerve cell activity in the brain as one neuron communication with the next.

The locations of the neuronal pathways depends on the nature of the information.

For example, activities such as speaking and writing activate neurons on the left temporal lobe, which processes language for most people where as studying a map probably activates neurons in the right parietal lobe, which processes spatial information.

The neuronal activity that represents the information you’ve just learned is temporary and the new information is part of your short term memory.

The memories that endure all be those that were encoded most completely in the first place or the information that you paid the closest attention to when you learned it.

When you have trouble remember a piece of information, it’s often because you weren’t paying close attention when you initially encountered it.

One of the reason older people have more trouble remembering things is that they are more easily distracted by background noises and other interruptions which can interfere with initial learning.

Memories that affect many of the senses as well as the emotions often are more likely to be retained.
Acquisition of Memory

Process of Remembering

Process of Remembering
The first step towards improving recall system is to observe. The stronger the observation the better is the memory.

Most of us do not attach enough importance to the power of observation. As the result we often overlook details while observing.

A simple test of the observation would be to try and recall specifics after you have watched a move.

For instance, try to remember the dress worn by the heroine while singing a specific song or the locale that went in the background.

You will find that you will not be able to recall these details initially, but as you hone up your power to observation, you will be able to remember the minutest of the details.

The reason for this change is very simple. You have been able to improve your power do remembering because you have made your observation keener.

Our forefathers had a much better memory than we do. Since there were no written scriptures, much of the text was passed from generation to generation though oral communication.

For this, the learned few had to memories the entire lot of scriptures through the rote method.

It was much later that writing methods were discovered and the ancient wisdom and scriptures were put in writing.

No doubt that the observation power of the people in the ancient times was also keen since they had to remember everything without being able to put it in writing.
Process of Remembering

External and Internal memory

External and Internal memory
Since the Greek times, people have been fascinated by memory. Before the widespread availability of portable writing materials, a good memory was vital for many activity.

A politician in ancient Athens could not rely on the projected text, which for television newscasters and US president has become routine.

Carefully prepared speeches had to be memorized. The memory methods developed to help in such circumstances provide the basis for modern techniques used by the entertainers and described in many books on memory.

However, such methods play a relatively minor role in improving memory.

Pencil and paper were not invented for nothing and are still our most valuable external memory.
In order to improve memory, both external and internal memory should be considered.

Internal aids are strategies for improving mind’s ability to retain the material needed.
External and Internal memory

Theory of Use and Disuse

Theory of Use and Disuse
An average human being loses up to 1,000,000 brain cells every day due to disuse.

Unlike the other cells of our body, the brain cells do not multiply. Any cells that are damaged or not used, simply degenerate.

By the age of 35 a human being losses over 1,000 nerve cells a day.

The lesser a person uses his brain, the worse his memory becomes. People get mentally out of shape when they stop challenging their minds; this happens when they opt for habitual solutions rather than purposely thought, or if they confine their thinking to a small range of interests.

Remember that mental fitness – your ability to concentrate, to reason, to visualize, to imagine, to make decisions, to solve problems and to think creatively - depends greatly on how well and how often you exercise your mind.

You need to exercise all of your mental muscles in order to keep your self mentally fit. Just like several body muscle work together to create physical movement, several mental muscles work together to create clear purposely thinking.
Theory of Use and Disuse

Human Memory

Human Memory
Memory of even the simplest, multicellular creature is not a matter of chance or skill, but is a well organized and extremely complicated system, determined fundamentally by genes and by experience.

Human memory is a highly developed and extremely efficient system. Memory means not only ‘the act of remembering’, but also ‘the person, thing, happening or act remembered’.

Other definitions include the use of the words ‘from memory’ to mean that something is remembered without the aid of notes, and the expression ‘in memory of’, meaning in honor of a certain person after their death.

An important feature of memory, or of the –process of remembering, is recall or recollecting at will.

‘At will’ is an interesting point, since learning is not usually automatic but involves attention, concentration and effort.

A good or a bad memory, in a singular, is an important part of everyone’s life.

Memories of pleasant or unpleasant things are often called ‘good’ or ‘bad’ memories.

What we called a ‘good’ memory varies from individual to individual. It has, in fact, become one of the main preoccupations of students and the major concern of people growing old.

People who complain about having poor or bad memory usually mean their fading ability to recall things.


The opposite of remembering is usually called forgetting. An important still open question is psychology is ‘learn to forget’, and if not, why not?

The common definitions of the word ‘forget; include ‘to put out of one’s mind’ meaning the active or intentional overlooking of an object, an insult and so on.

Finally, there is the odd phrase ‘to forget oneself’, meaning to lose control or behave without suitable dignity.
Human Memory