"How to increase memory retention capacity?" Master Kone asks us this question on our Facebook page. It's our reader question of the week. Thank you all for your participation.
The answer to this question might well depend on… our motivation. One study conducted by American researchers from Duke University and published in 2023 in the journal Pnas provides a surprising insight. Through an original experiment, these scientists have shown that our memory does not function in the same way depending on whether we act in urgency or driven by curiosity.
A virtual burglary to test memory
To reach this conclusion, the researchers recruited 420 volunteers. Their mission? To participate in an immersive video game: to play art thieves in a virtual museum. Faced with four colored doors, representing different rooms, the participants had to choose which one to enter to discover a painting and its value. But the scenario varied from group to group.
Credits: Alyssa Synclair
For the first group, it was "urgent" mode. The players were in the middle of a heist. They had to act fast, steal the most expensive paintings, all while avoiding a security guard who suddenly appeared on screen, or risk being caught. For the second group, it was "reconnaissance" mode. Here, there was no immediate pressure. The participants calmly explored the premises to plan their next heist.
"In an emergency situation, to avoid danger for example, our brain is in 'imperative' mode. The drawback of this configuration is that it restricts our memory and attention capacities.", summarized Alyssa Synclair, co-author of the study, in 2023 to Science and Future.
Read alsoMemory, "a complex interplay between the present and the future, fueled by the past"
A stronger memory… when you take your time
The following day, all participants took a test to recognize the paintings they had observed the day before. The result: those who were in "scouting" mode remembered the works significantly better, especially the most valuable ones. "The reward stimulated their memory, so the valuable paintings were more likely to be remembered," the researcher analyzes.
In contrast, players in "urgent" mode remembered better… the doors behind which the valuable paintings were hidden. Their memory focused on immediate strategic elements. Conclusion: there is a trade-off between "urgent" mode, which improves short-term performance, and "curious" mode, which promotes the formation of lasting memories.
Dopamine versus noradrenaline
How can these differences be explained? By distinct neurobiological mechanisms. The "urgent" mode is thought to be associated with norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter similar to adrenaline, and with the activation of the amygdala, a key region in the stress response. As for the "curious" mode, it appears to involve dopamine and the activation of the hippocampus, a structure essential for the formation of detailed and lasting memories.
In other words, stress mobilizes the brain to act quickly, but not necessarily to memorize deeply. Curiosity, on the other hand, seems to create a more favorable "biological environment" for memory consolidation. In 2023, the American team announced the launch of a new study, using fMRI, aimed at directly observing which brain regions are activated during gaming in order to predict performance on the next day's memory test.
How to switch to "curious mode" on a daily basis?
Stress is omnipresent in our fast-paced lives. But according to Alyssa Synclair, it's possible to shift into a state more conducive to memorization. She suggests several approaches: formulating questions to stimulate curiosity, introducing play and fun into learning, trying new activities or exploring new places, or practicing relaxation techniques, such as meditation and mindfulness.
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