Remember more by taking breaks

[Judi Lynn]

Longer breaks during learning lead to more stable activation patterns in the brain.
Date:
July 29, 2021
Source:
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
Summary:
We remember things longer if we take breaks during learning, referred to as the spacing effect. Scientists gained deeper insight into the neuronal basis for this phenomenon in mice. With longer intervals between learning repetitions, mice reuse more of the same neurons as before -- instead of activating different ones. Possibly, this allows the neuronal connections to strengthen with each learning event, such that knowledge is stored for a longer time.


Many of us have experienced the following: the day before an exam, we try to cram a huge amount of information into our brain. But just as quickly as we acquired it, the knowledge we have painstakingly gained is gone again. The good news is that we can counteract this forgetting. With expanded time intervals between individual learning events, we retain the knowledge for a longer time.

But what happens in the brain during the spacing effect, and why is taking breaks so beneficial for our memory? It is generally thought that during learning, neurons are activated and form new connections. In this way, the learned knowledge is stored and can be retrieved by reactivating the same set of neurons. However, we still know very little about how pauses positively influence this process – even though the spacing effect was described more than a century ago and occurs in almost all animals.

Annet Glas and Pieter Goltstein, neurobiologists in the team of Mark Hübener and Tobias Bonhoeffer, investigated this phenomenon in mice. To do this, the animals had to remember the position of a hidden chocolate piece in a maze. On three consecutive opportunities, they were allowed to explore the maze and find their reward – including pauses of varying lengths. "Mice that were trained with the longer intervals between learning phases were not able to remember the position of the chocolate as quickly," explains Annet Glas. "But on the next day, the longer the pauses, the better was the mice's memory."

During the maze test, the researchers additionally measured the activity of neurons in the prefrontal cortex. This brain region is of particular interest for learning processes, as it is known for its role in complex thinking tasks. Accordingly, the scientists showed that inactivation of the prefrontal cortex impaired the mice's performance in the maze.

More:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/07/210729122037.htm

[elleng]

1. Remember, We remember things longer if we take breaks during learning,

referred to as the spacing effect.

((A little late, for ME anyway.))

[Judi Lynn]

2. Neuroscientists discover how taking breaks while learning improves memory

By Rich Haridy
July 29, 2021

In the late 19th century German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus published an influential book exploring memory and learning. Ebbinghaus was the first to chronicle a learning phenomenon which became known as the "spacing effect."

The spacing effect suggests information is more effectively encoded into long-term memory when learning sessions are interspersed with large breaks. Over 100 years of research has backed up this observation, yet it is still unclear exactly how memory is strengthened by spacing out learning sessions.

To better understand how the spacing effect works, a new study looked at the brains of mice tested with an everyday memory task. The animals had to find a piece of chocolate in a maze. They had three opportunities to hunt for the prize, with the chocolate in the same location each time.

The researchers experimented with different time spans between each of the three chocolate hunts. Interestingly, in the short term, longer breaks between prize hunts seemed to hinder the animals’ ability to remember where the chocolate was.

More:
https://newatlas.com/biology/spacing-effect-breaks-while-learning-memory-neuroscience/

[Skittles]

3. happens a lot in the IT world

you'll be thinking all day about an issue at work and then BINGO the answer comes to you while you are showering

[eppur_se_muova]

4. Also: If you finish a chapter, or section, and want to retain more of what you've just read:

Look back over it quickly, then read the first two paragraphs or so of the next section. Pause, and glance over the end of the last ch/sec again before taking a break or quitting for the day.

This helps info in your short-term memory begin the move into long-term memory. If you stop cold some of what is in short-term memory doesn't make it.