There’s a reason you forget to write things down on your shopping list: future memory.

Did you turn off the gas? Where did you leave the keys? What was I coming into the kitchen to do? These are some of the questions we often ask ourselves. Of the three, the last is perhaps the most interesting, which includes A form of memory that we are not aware of: the Prospective memory.

What exactly is prospective memory? This type of memory is what refers to our ability to remember planned or future actions, and to remember intentions. We can remember what we were going to look for in the refrigerator or the dentist appointment on Thursday.

Prospective memory is something we deal with in our daily lives, but it’s not a concept that many people are familiar with. Nor do the experts: research on this type of memory took place until the beginning of this century. Almost non-existent.

But in recent years we have succeeded Know some key aspects of this memory. For example, we now have an idea of ​​the brain areas involved in the correct functioning of prospective memory. 2010 study Found three areas of the brain whose activity was associated with expected memory outcomes: the parahippocampal gyrus, the left inferior parietal lobe, and the left anterior cingulate.

However, there is still much to be investigated in this regard. Other studies, for example, have given greater importance to right hemisphere activation in relation to this memory. OthersFor example, emphasizing the role of the anterior prefrontal cortex and medial temporal lobes. But it’s not just neurobiology.

Why do we forget what we were going to write in the shopping list? Prospective memory is not much different in this from other forms of memory. here Attention is key. in Interview with RAC1 RadioStarting with “What Did I Come to the Kitchen to Do,” neuropsychologist Saul Martinez-Horta explains how we have this ability to forget things.

Distractions are one of the main factors that affect this memory. If we go to the kitchen to get salt, but in the meantime we remember that we left the oven on, this second fact will make us confused and increase the possibility of forgetting the salt.

in Martinez Horta’s own words “What usually makes us forget what we should be doing is the saturation of the system and the distraction that is mediated by another event. Brain capacity is limited and sensitive to distraction“So it’s relatively easy to direct our attention to something other than what we’re doing.”

Therefore, focus is key if we want our future memory (or memory in general) to have more of itself. Memory can be trained, but exercises that allow us to do this are not generally useful outside of the memory function we are seeking to train. This means that there is no evidence that solving a crossword will make us remember to buy popcorn when we have visitors.

This does not mean that we are helpless. Some healthy habits impact In our brain’s ability to perform its tasks, although studies focusing on prospective memory are rare, incorporating it may be a good idea.

a Diverse diet, Practice And sleeping properly can Help us with our memory. Maybe they can also help us remember what we were looking for in the closet before receiving a WhatsApp from our brother-in-law.

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