Memory Training, Does it Work?

     Do you sometimes find yourself not being able to remember something? Do you wish your memory was stronger, even borderline photographic memory? Many claim that the right food and rest improves brain function and memory. While this is true, a new study out of University of California Irvine shows that with the right methods, "Brain training turns recall rookies into memory masters." https://www.sciencenews.org/article/brain-training-turns-recall-rookies-memory-masters

Through a 6 week training program, people with average memory became so called "experts" at memorization.
Participants of the study with average memory went through a training method called "Loci". This is a memorization strategy used by the ancient Greeks and Romans. This technique involves a memorable mental picture or scene, then littering that image with memorable images or things that can be related in some way to the words needed to be memorized in the study.

After 6 weeks of studying and practicing this technique, the participant's memorization skills were compared to the world's best memories. These strong memory individuals placed extremely high at the World Memorization Championships.
For a list of 72 words and 20 minutes to look at the list, the memory experts recalled accurately on average 70.8 words, while at the start of the study those with average memory only remembered 39.9 words.
At the conclusion of 6 weeks, the participants were tested again and the results are very comparable to those with the expert memory average. (Exact numbers for the 2nd quiz not provided).

Brain scans were also done at the beginning and end of the study to the experts and non-experts to show what parts of the brain neuron activation was. Much more activity overall was detected in the experts compared to the non-experts. However at the conclusion, the brain activity of the experts and Loci participants were extremely comparable.

This goes to show with the right methods and proper guidance, the human brain is capable of learning new ways to process information and can consistently become stronger.

-Wainam