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Scientists Can Give Sleeping Mice False Happy Memories

The experiment is part of research into future treatment of humans suffering from PTSD.

image via (cc) flickr user maryscheirer

Imagine waking up one morning and having a wonderful—albeit fuzzy—memory of a place you barely cared about when you went to bed the night before. You can’t quite explain why, but the next time you go to that place you feel terrific, as if you’re somewhere you’ve always loved, even though you know that’s never actually been the case. This, more or less, is what laboratory mice at France’s National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) have experienced recently, after undergoing what The Guardian calls “the first demonstration of memory manipulation during sleep.”

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Chocolate May Be Pretty Sweet for Your Brain, Too

Study participants that ingested a large amount of cocoa flavanols exhibited memory function typically seen in those two to three decades younger

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The fountain of youth may be a chocolate one. Ok, maybe that’s overstating things, but the mighty cocoa bean, source of all chocolate, is indicated in yet another health benefit, this time in preserving the brain’s memory function.

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Work Better: Remember More Stuff with 'Chunking'

The "chunking technique" can help you remember more things than you think you can remember.

I'm fighting a cold at the moment so my memory is foggier than usual, but even on my best days I wish I had a little more short-term memory capacity. Lucky for me, then, that I learned a new trick to try today: the "chunking technique." Actually, we've all done it, but we might not have thought about it in this particular way.

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Food for Thinkers: WANTED! Prison Food Writers

Bryan Finoki pursues his interest in the politics of space into the prison dining room—and all the way along the inmates' digestive tracts.

Bryan Finoki is the author of Subtopia, a blog exploring the shadowy intersections between architecture, urbanism, militarism, border space, and geopolitics, as well as an adjunct faculty member at Woodbury University's School of Architecture in San Diego, California. For Food for Thinkers week, Finoki pursues his interest in the politics of space into the prison dining room—and all the way along the inmates' digestive tracts.

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Food for Thinkers: I Like Coke

Architect Dan Maginn considers the precise conditions under which Coke becomes a perfectly designed object—a Truly Memorable, Great Coke.

Architect Dan Maginn (his name should be familiar to the GOOD community as the author of the Square Feat series, among other guest posts) possesses an eclectic and somewhat unexpected range of food expertise. Looking to improve your sandwich-making methodology through the application of architectural design principles? He has a step-by-step guide just for you (PDF). Intrigued by the similarities and differences between Italy, the country, and Arthur Bryant's, the famous barbecue restaurant? Maginn's your man (PDF)

For GOOD's Food For Thinkers week, Maginn decided it was time to turn his designer's eye to Coke. Warning: this post is The Real Thing*.

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