Learning by surprise – novelty enhances memory

Posted February 5th, 2009 by hsb10 No Comments »

Psychologists have known for some time that if we experience a novel situation within a familiar context, we will more easily store this event in memory. But only recently have studies of the brain begun to explain how this process happens and to suggest new ways of teaching that could improve learning and memory.strongbr /br //stronga onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TiHeeslRSxU/SUfxMvOZZ3I/AAAAAAAAA_s/G8kOeOzCqGg/s1600-h/weird-design-adult-361987-l.jpg”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 319px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TiHeeslRSxU/SUfxMvOZZ3I/AAAAAAAAA_s/G8kOeOzCqGg/s400/weird-design-adult-361987-l.jpg” alt=”" id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280454289252771698″ border=”0″ //astrongNovelty Detector/strongbr /pOne of the most important brain regions involved in discovering, processing and storing new sensory impressions is the span class=”blsp-spelling-error” id=”SPELLING_ERROR_0″hippocampus/span, located in the temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex. Novel stimuli tend to activate the span class=”blsp-spelling-error” id=”SPELLING_ERROR_1″hippocampus/span more than familiar stimuli do, which is why the span class=”blsp-spelling-error” id=”SPELLING_ERROR_2″hippocampus/span serves as the brain’s “novelty detector.”/p pThe span class=”blsp-spelling-error” id=”SPELLING_ERROR_3″hippocampus/span compares incoming sensory information with stored knowledge. If these differ, the span class=”blsp-spelling-error” id=”SPELLING_ERROR_4″hippocampus/span sends a pulse of the messenger substance dopamine to the span class=”blsp-spelling-error” id=”SPELLING_ERROR_5″substantia/span span class=”blsp-spelling-error” id=”SPELLING_ERROR_6″nigra/span (SN) and ventral span class=”blsp-spelling-error” id=”SPELLING_ERROR_7″tegmental/span area (span class=”blsp-spelling-error” id=”SPELLING_ERROR_8″VTA/span) in the span class=”blsp-spelling-error” id=”SPELLING_ERROR_9″midbrain/span. From there nerve fibers extend back to the span class=”blsp-spelling-error” id=”SPELLING_ERROR_10″hippocampus/span and trigger the release of more dopamine. Researchers call this feedback mechanism the span class=”blsp-spelling-error” id=”SPELLING_ERROR_11″hippocampal/span-SN/span class=”blsp-spelling-error” id=”SPELLING_ERROR_12″VTA/span loop./p pThis feedback loop is why we remember things better in the context of novelty. As span class=”blsp-spelling-error” id=”SPELLING_ERROR_13″Shaomin/span Li and his colleagues at Trinity College Dublin discovered in 2003, the release of dopamine in the span class=”blsp-spelling-error” id=”SPELLING_ERROR_14″hippocampus/span of rats activates the synapses among nerve cells, creating stronger connections that lead to long-term memory storage. New research asks whether this same neuronal loop facilitates the retention of other information that is perceived along with novel stimuli./p pThe research, using magnetic resonance imaging to measure the activity of various brain regions based on blood flow, presented one group of test subjects with a set of already known images and a second group with a combination of known and new images. Subjects in the second group were better at remembering the images than subjects in the first group were, and showed greater activity in the SN and span class=”blsp-spelling-error” id=”SPELLING_ERROR_15″VTA/span areas of the brain when the subjects were viewing unfamiliar images. This correlation may help explain how novelty improves memory./p pstrongIncreased Retention/strongbr /br /Are the effects of novelty on memory merely temporary? To answer this question, the researchers showed test subjects a variety of photographs and measured their brain activity. They also gave the participants a series of words to sort according to their meaning./p pThe experiment continued the next day when they showed some of the test subjects new images while others viewed familiar ones. Then we asked all the subjects to recall as many words from the previous day’s exercise as they could. Recall was significantly better in the group that had just viewed new images./p pIn other words, novelty seems to promote memory. This finding gives leaders and HR practitioners a potential tool for structuring their messages more effectively. Although most companies start a “corporate message” by going over material from the previous communication before moving on to new subject matter, they should probably do just the opposite: start with surprising new information and then review the older material.br /br /span style=”font-size:78%;”a href=”http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=learning-by-surpriseamp;print=true”Source Scientific American/a/spanbr //p

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