Reappraisal and distraction eased feelings similarly, but with different patterns of attention
Twenty-five students viewed unpleasant photos. Both strategies reduced negative emotion, while pupils dilated more during reappraisal.
Brain, sleep and memory
Sleep, memory and attention come up in many conversations, but studies do not all measure them in the same way. This collection brings together research to explore those questions more closely.
What to look for in these studies
A memory test, a sleep recording and a brain image describe different things. Each reading separates the study's measurements from possible explanations and claims the evidence cannot support. This is educational content, not a way to diagnose sleep or memory problems.
- How did researchers measure sleep, attention or memory?
- How long did the observation last?
- Does the result concern a specific test or everyday life?
Explore the research
A phone sound slowed responses by about three milliseconds
Students searched for letters on a screen while phone-like or control tones played. There were no more errors, but a brain signal changed.
People who reached deeper sleep were more likely to find the hidden rule
Of 28 people who reached the second sleep stage, 24 found the rule; among 18 who stayed awake, 10 did.
While viewing an image, the brain represented the next category
After learning 50 images in sequence, brain activity revealed the next image’s category. Nap rhythms were associated with that signal.
Before attention lapsed, slow waves like those in sleep appeared
In 26 well-rested adults, slow waves appeared before mind wandering or blanking out; their locations coincided with different errors.
Future scenes imagined from rewarded words felt somewhat more vivid
Future scenes felt more vivid with rewarded words than with new words. With neutral words, the difference was smaller.
Models that store summaries reproduced several human memory errors
Using chess, text, and drawings, the models filled in missing details with what they had learned. This was a simulation, with no new participants.
More money at stake did not make visual memory more accurate
In three online experiments, a larger reward did not appear to improve memory for a figure’s orientation. Remembering more figures did make it harder.
Learning German for six months was associated with brain changes
Young Arabic speakers improved in German during an intensive course in Leipzig, while some brain connections increased and another decreased.
Six months of piano or music listening: no piano advantage was seen
Across both groups, healthy older adults remembered tones better after six months. The brain showed local changes and a more general reduction.
Exercise, challenges, and social activity improved a memory test
Older adults with mild cognitive impairment were randomly assigned. The program group improved on a memory-and-thinking test while the routine group declined.
Pain was lower with placebo, but one brain signal did not follow
Nearly 400 people reported less pain from heat and pressure. One brain measure fell, while another, more closely tied to pain signals, did not.
When people heard happy or fearful music, auditory areas did not act alone
As 24 young adults listened to music in a scanner, auditory signals coincided with those from areas linked to emotion, vision, and movement.
After guiding a brain signal, a connection changed the next day
Using a visual display, 20 people tried to direct their brain signal in opposite directions. The next day, one pathway between the two sides showed a localized change.
Accurately noticing a heartbeat showed no link to momentary anxiety
Healthy students attending to their hearts showed responses in three parts of a brain region. With unsettling situations, the response appeared in just one.
Videos with more movement can feel longer
Adults estimated video durations. A program that added up image changes reproduced some of those trends, but not every estimate.
An alpha rhythm already pointed to the attended side before the target appeared
In 33 healthy adults, this rhythm coincided with size differences between the two sides of two deep brain structures.
More confidence after choosing, but similar accuracy when remembering
Young adults felt more certain about their memories after making a choice themselves than after watching someone else choose. Overall accuracy was similar.
The brains of hearing-aid users showed which voice they were attending to
Two analyses distinguished the attended voice in 31 hearing-aid users. The newer one reduced a distortion in the coherence measure.
Block practice was faster during training, but varied practice performed better later
Among 48 healthy men, those who alternated conditions performed better later and with the other hand. Sleep showed no advantage over staying awake.