Forgetfulness is a tool of the brain - being-human - 04 June 2007 - New Scientist

Forgetfulness is a tool of the brain - being-human - 04 June 2007 - New Scientist: "Forgetfulness is a tool of the brain * 14:01 04 June 2007 * NewScientist.com news service * Michael Reilly Printable versionEmail to a friendRSS FeedSyndicate Tools digg thisAdd My YahooAdd Google Reader reddit submitNewsvineciteulike submit Related Articles * Adult-formed brain cells important for memory * 23 May 2007 * The burden of a lasting memory * 28 May 2005 * Sleep well before learning something new * 11 February 2007 * Search New Scientist * Contact us Web Links * Stanford Memory Lab * Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, MIT * Michael Anderson, University of Oregon A note to the forgetful: be thankful you don’t remember everything. It means your brain is working properly. According to a new study, the brain only chooses to remember memories it thinks are most relevant, and actively suppresses those that are similar but less used, helping to lessen the cognitive load and prevent confusion. Brice Kuhl at Stanford University in California, US, and colleagues used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure the brain activity of 20 healthy adults while they performed a simple memory"