The formation of a memory consists of three main steps: encoding, storage, and retrieval. However, many issues can arise with this system. Even when we have successfully understood and memorized information, we can have issues accessing it. How frustrating is it when you know the answer but you just can't say it because somehow you forgot! We have all had these experiences and researchers believe a big part to this is stress.
Although it has been found that certain small amounts of stress can actually help successfully encode and store information, it can cause issues with retrieving information we have already learned. Some researchers wanted to see why this was the case. They set up an experiment with two groups, both had to take a test on certain information after being exposed to a stressful situation, like public speaking. While one group was tested on novel information the other was tested on previously learned information. During the learning portion of the experiment, the test subjects' brain activity was being observed with fMRI.
The group that had learned new information was using mainly their hippocampus while the other group learning new information was accessing their medial prefrontal cortex. While under stress access to the medial prefrontal cortex was impaired, which is what is believed to cause us to have less recall of past knowledge when under stress. This research could lead to ways to improve test taking skills as well as applications for patients with stress related illness that affect their memory.
I found your post very interesting because it is something we can all relate to. Every student has had that moment where they remember learning something, but they just cannot remember the answer for the life of them. Research like this is important because understanding memory retrieval while under stress can help not only students, but also other situations like eyewitness testimony in court. This research and more like it could have so many important implications for so many people!
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting article and one that is highly relatable to everyone, especially college students. I have personally experienced high stress while studying and then not remembering the information on a test. This research is important because it shows that high stress is detrimental to learning. It is interesting because I feel like not only does school put students under stress but other extracurricular activities, work and, in some cases, parents also add to the stress. I find it ironic that so much stress is put on students to perform well however, that excessive stress is actually causing them to perform worse. This information and research can bring light to professors, teachers, parents and students that it is important to prioritize mental health and stress relief. Bringing these findings to the spotlight will bring about a greater awareness of the detrimental effects of stress.
ReplyDeleteThis was a cool article and I would be interested to learn more about what the researchers discovered by seeing the actual fMRI images! I would be curious to see if different types of stress could have different effects on how effectively the participants were able retrieve previously learned information. Public speaking is a stressful task for many people, but some might get more stressed out at a surprise math quiz or even doing a complex task under time constraints. Stress seems to have its greatest effects on explicit memory, but I would be curious if there could be a study that tests if implicit memory is also impaired. Of course, explicit memory is far more useful when taking exams, but implicit memory can also be useful! Like many other comments have stated, this is definitely useful research and is relatable to us as college students! Maybe more studies in the future should examine effects of chronic stress on college/graduate/medical or other higher education students!
ReplyDeleteWe often hear about the negative effects stress has on our bodies. Weight gain, acne, and early aging are all common side affects of chronic stress. It is amazing to see that it also has an impact on our memory. This study makes chronic stress in college students seem ironic, getting stressed trying to memorize something and only making it harder to remember that thing. In my blog I found a study on mindfulness meditation as a pain reliever. I have also read quite a few studies that show its ability to relieve stress. Even here at Loyola we have mindfulness meditation events during finals week because it is a great way to relieve stress and improve focus. The more evidence of negative impacts of stress the more convinced I am that practice like mindfulness meditation and yoga should be a part of every college students daily routine.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to find out impairment of the medial prefrontal cortex during times of stress. If this is true however, it would but into the questionability of eye witness accounts even further, and should be considered by others when recounting memories during stressful situations. With that in mind, I think that knowing how stress affects the brain in conjunction to memory is important in our daily lives as well, because people can learn how to implement better ways to study, plan, etc.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting subject. It has been widely believed that stress will have negative consequences both psychologically and physiologically on humans; especially, on those that do not know how to cope with stress appropriately. I think that there may be a correlation between people who loose their patients during stressful scenarios and those who have a hard time learning new information. Conversely, I believe that a relationship also exist between people who cope with stressful situations well, and their ability to learn new information efficiently. I believe the reason for people to be unable to learn new information due to stressful conditions, is because they loose their patients as a result of lacking certain degree of consciousness. While people that typically are better learners, tend to cope with stress superiorily because they posses a higher degree of conscientiousness, which allow them to reflect on specific thoughts at will and prevent emotions from inhibiting their capacity to make decisions. In addition, they do it automatically because they learned that through frequent concentration of the mind one may increase the magnitude of consciousness.
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