CNS 2018 Press Release March 26, 2018 – Boston – The time babies spend in the womb is far from idle. The brain is changing more rapidly during this time than at any other time in development. It is an active time for the fetus to grow and explore, and of course connect to its […]
The Effects of Stress on Learning Vary by Memory Type
The other day, I reset my password for a social media site. When I went to login today, I inadvertently entered the old password. When that happened, I was using my automatic, “stimulus-response” memory, a rigid, habit-like memory. When I then remembered I had changed my password, I tapped into a different type of memory, […]
The Neuroscience of Trauma from Sexual Assault
Guest Post by Kathryn Gigler, Northwestern University “I believe that you believe something happened to you.” The young woman repeated the detective’s statement to me again. It had been the detective’s response to her question of whether he believed her account of the brutal sexual assault she had experienced the past weekend. As a counselor […]
Stress Hormone Hinders Memory Recall
Most of us can recall a time when our mind blanked in an exam. Ironically, that vivid memory is of a time when we just couldn’t remember something. Part of the explanation for this contradiction is the stress hormone cortisol. While increased levels of cortisol boost the formation of memories, they can hinder their recall. […]
