Inside your head is an organ called the brain. The brain is where we think and store everything we know. It is sort of like a library. But libraries can get full if you stack too many books in them.
Can the brain become full too? The answer is no. New ideas come in, but old ideas also get pushed out. A new study shows how this might happen.
The Experiment
Often we ty to remember a specific memory, an event or idea. Sometimes we cannot, but remember something alike instead. Similar memories can get in the way of finding the right memory. In the study, scientists asked people to learn two similar ideas. Then they asked people to think of just one of them.
The Results
The scientists took pictures of what was happening in people's brains. Each time one idea is remembered, the memory of it gets stronger.
The hippocampus in the middle of the brain searches for memories. The prefrontal skin in the front chooses a memory.
Better to forget
Sometimes forgetting is good. Imagine you had to learn a new password. Forgetting the old password makes it easier to remember the new one. If you couldn't forget the old one, you would end up with too many passwords in your head.
There are many studies about how we learn and remember. But now scientists are also studying how and why we forget. We forget memories that we do not use. Then we can remember other memories more easily.
A. Maybe this is why our brains never get full.
B. Forgetting is our brain's way of organizing memories.
C. Learning new things can lead to forgetting old things.
D. Different parts of the brain work together to remember.
E. As expected, the more we forget, the better it will be.
F. At the same time, the memory of the other idea gets weaker.
G. The brain, made up of different parts, is complex and easily gets started.
