It Takes More Brain Power To FORGET Than to Remember

A new study from the University of Texas, published Monday in the Journal of Neuroscience, says that letting go of a piece of information may take more work than holding on to it. To forget a memorable experience, people must use more mental energy to redirect their attention from it than to just keep remembering it. The study finds that we have the ability to voluntarily forget something, Memories aren’t just fixed in place. Rather, they are revised and shifted around as time goes on. Forgetting things, they say, forces the brain to use a moderate amount of brain activity, more than what it takes to keep memory intact. But it you focus too hard on forgetting, it will strengthen the memory; too weak, and you won’t be able to suppress or lose it. Here’s the full story from UPI.