Mem-Sleep -- The Discovery Files

Remember to Sleep, and Sleep to Remember!

Scientists have found that sleep helps consolidate memories, fixing them in the brain so we can retrieve them later. Now, new research from the University of Notre Dame and Boston College shows that sleep also seems to reorganize memories, picking out the emotional details and reconfiguring the memories to help you produce new and creative ideas.

Credit: NSF/Karson Productions

Audio Transcript:

Remember to Sleep -- Sleep to Remember.

I'm Bob Karson with the discovery files -- new advances in science and engineering from the National Science Foundation.

When you're asleep, your brain is very active. Looking at research out of Notre Dame and Boston College, sleepy time is when your brain, among other things, is analyzing, organizing, and reconfiguring memories, so you can retrieve them later. The project showed regions of the brain most active during sleep included emotion and memory consolidation. They found that your brain is giving each memory an once-over, and filing it in such a way as to make the memory stronger.
The team believes that as your brain processes memories, it hangs on to the most emotional parts and gets rid of some of the less useful fine detail. The researchers say a good night's sleep (eight hours in most cases) can also enhance creativity, because your brain has distilled the memories down to the most salient and useful information. It's sort of like when you de-frag a computer, it can accomplish new tasks more efficiently.

It takes time for the brain to accomplish this. You may think you can cheat the sandman but without enough sleep, your brain may not have finished its work. The researchers say even a relatively small amount of sleep deprivation could profoundly affect your cognitive abilities.
So sleep well tonight -- think better tomorrow.

I think I need a power nap.

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"The Discovery Files" covers projects funded by the government's National Science Foundation. Federally sponsored research -- brought to you, by you! Learn more at nsf.gov or on our podcast.

An Excellent Website for Learning English

Here is an excellent website, English with Jennifer, providing videos about Grammar, Vocabulary, Pronunciation, etc. for English learners and teachers.

Jennifer, the website owner said,
"Whether you're currently enrolled in a language program or not, take advantage of free online instruction from an experienced teacher. The lessons will introduce new content to some and serve as a review for others."

Let's learn English with Jennifer at
http://www.youtube.com/user/JenniferESL

Spatial Circumstance-- The Discovery Files

Studying the strategies we employ to find our way in unfamiliar areas.

Some people always know how find their way around a building while others have difficulty doing so. Differences among people that include spatial skills, experience, and preferred strategies for way finding are part of what determines whether people get lost inside buildings--and psychological scientists could help architects understand where and why people might get lost in their buildings, according to the authors of an article published in Current Directions in Psychological Science.

Credit: NSF/Karson Productions

Audio Transcript:

You Are -- Here.

I'm Bob Karson with the discovery files -- new advances in science and engineering from the National Science Foundation.

Work led by cognitive scientists at Notre Dame could be of some help to those of us who easily get lost in large buildings -- who are, let us say, "directionally challenged?"

I mean it sometimes I get in these places and I feel like a rat in a maze. This new information shows there may be better tacks one can take to navigate based on the way one's own brain works. Here are the 3 different factors that may influence your ability to find your way. Lead researcher Laura Carlson:

(Laura) "One is: features of the building itself so, good lines of sight if there's symmetry, good signage in the building might help. Another is the "cognitive map," so that's just this internal representation that you build that has elements of the building. So some objects that you pass by, landmarks, certain paths, and so on and then the third factor are things about the person navigating themselves they might be someone who never gets lost, they might be someone who gets lost all the time and they may have different strategies about encountering in a novel space."

The team shows how using different strategies may help. For instance, you might want to build that GPS in your head using landmarks instead of relying on remembering that series of right and left turns. This research could give architects a blueprint for creating buildings that have features that make them a lot more maneuverable.

Now, how do I get out of here?

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"The Discovery Files" covers projects funded by the government's National Science Foundation. Federally sponsored research -- brought to you, by you! Learn more at nsf.gov or on our podcast.

Photos of Tsoying High School Youth Leadership Program Graduation Ceremony

Tsoying Toastmasters Club conducted a Youth Leadership Program for Tsoying High School Students during the first semester of School Year 2010-2011. And the close ceremony was held on January 29.

Please visit the following links for the Video and photos:

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150091956489828&comments

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=100000177978123&aid=60977

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=100000177978123&aid=60977#!/album.php?
id=612194827&aid=282600

Deeply thanks to Wen-hung, Angela, Amber, Kevin, Nina, Fu-mei, Mike, Grace, Tsoying High's principal, Tsoying Club members and who all supported this program.