Remember the Alamo

A researcher explores the mechanics of memory.

By Nicole Dudukovic

Remember the Alamo? Not really.

By Nicole Dudukovic, Ph.D. on July 3, 2008 - 12:28pm in Remember the Alamo

Although the name of my Psychology Today blog is Remember the Alamo (a name not chosen but approved by me), I recently realized that I didn't remember much at all about the Alamo. I knew it involved a famous battle in Texas with an outcome that was memorable, at least to some people, but that's about all I could have told you. Luckily, a quick search on Wikipedia helped me fill in the rest of the details. Read More

Are All Memoirs Fiction?

By Nicole Dudukovic, Ph.D. on June 17, 2008 - 5:15pm in Remember the Alamo

A few years ago Oprah Winfrey famously criticized James Frey for fabricating large parts of his memoir A Million Little Pieces, the story of his recovery from drug addiction. Since then, the veracity of memoirs has become a hot topic, calling into question how how truthful any memoir really is. Read More

Sleeping Your Way to a Better Memory

By Nicole Dudukovic, Ph.D. on June 4, 2008 - 3:23pm in Remember the Alamo

One more thing to add to the long list of benefits of a good night's sleep: it may transform your mental record of the day's events into durable memory traces. Read More

This Is Your Brain...On Anti-Drug Campaigns

By Nicole Dudukovic, Ph.D. on May 15, 2008 - 9:18pm in Remember the Alamo

"This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?" For anyone who watched TV in the late 1980s, that phrase should bring back memories of an egg in a frying pan. Read More

The (Un)bearable Lightness of Memory

By Nicole Dudukovic, Ph.D. on May 4, 2008 - 11:57pm in Remember the Alamo

Some memories are better off forgotten. Like your ex-boyfriend's phone number or the reason why you dated your ex-boyfriend in the first place. If forgetting can be a blessing, why do we more often think of it as a curse? Read More

Eat Blueberries, Remember More?

By Nicole Dudukovic, Ph.D. on April 24, 2008 - 6:34pm in Remember the Alamo

Looking for any easy way to improve your memory? Try eating more blueberries or other "brain foods" believed to be effective at decreasing the forgetfulness that occurs as we age. Stuffing yourself with blueberry smoothies, pies, and cobblers could be the key to a better memory. Read More

Remember the Alamo