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Archeologists usually investigate ancient sites, but what if neurologists could dig into the brain’s past and uncover the history of past experiences? Recent brain studies have revealed that spontaneous waves of neuronal activity in the brain bear the imprints of earlier events for at least 24 hours after the experience has taken place. This means that close encounter witnesses’ brains will contain a signature of their experience, and it would be possible to determine from that whether it was a physical event or a nightmare. This would be an enormous and important step forward in close encounter research.
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If you’ve contracted Herpes, will your memory fly away? The virus that causes cold sores, along with other viral or bacterial infections, may be associated with cognitive problems.

A new study found that people who have had higher levels of infection in their blood (measured by antibody levels), meaning they had been exposed over the years to various pathogens such as the herpes simplex type 1 virus that causes cold sores, were more likely to have cognitive problems than people with lower levels of infection in the blood.

Medical researcher Mira Katan says, "We found the link was greater among women, those with lower levels of education and Medicaid or no health insurance, and most prominently, in people who do not exercise.
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Lots of us daydream about how different the world would be if the 9/11 attacks had never happened (or maybe only happened in a parallel universe). Is daydreaming a sign of intelligence or creativity? It turns out that it’s a sign that our memories are working just fine.

Studies have found that our minds are wandering half the time, drifting off to thoughts unrelated to what we’re doing–did I remember to turn off the light? What should I have for dinner? In fact, you’re probably not going to make it all the way through this story without thinking about something else.
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Scientists have learned how to turn memories on and off with the flip of a switch. And while most of us, as we get older, want to remember more (for instance, people’s names), some people want to FORGET some of the traumatic events they’ve witnessed.

Scientists are able to turn memories on and off due to recent advances in their understanding of the brain area known as the hippocampus and its role in learning. Using an electronic system that duplicates the neural signals associated with memory, they can replicate the brain function in rats associated with long-term learned behavior, even when the rats they are working with have been drugged to forget.
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