Removing information from memories may help people retain what they want to remember. Studies focus on how the brain removes information by subconsciously not paying attention to these details, but sometimes there is a need to consciously remove unneeded details from memories. This is especially true when details in a memory are perceptibly harmful and lead to, for example, people combating rumination, intrusive negative thoughts, or hallucinations. In a new JNeurosci paper, Jiangang Shan and Bradley Postle, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, explored how the brain actively removes unneeded memory content.
The researchers recorded the brain activity of nearly 30 study participants as they performed a memory task. In this task, participants were initially given two items to remember. Experimental conditions either did or did not encourage participants to actively remove the memory of one of these items. Following these conditions, they were given a third item to remember. Finally, participants were tested on their memory of the relevant first and final items. The findings indicate a mechanism linked to consciously removing information from a memory: less excitable brain circuits that initially process unneeded memory content.
