Purging and Saving: The Science of Memory Retention.

Cognitive neuroscientists are studying how people forget information and the mechanisms involved in removing information from working memory. Researchers have identified distinct mechanisms by which people remove information from their working memory and have also found that forgetting requires much effort. The hope is that the body of work can lead not only toward better understanding attention and focus but also toward clinical targets for helping patients suffering from disorders ranging from depression and schizophrenia to PTSD and ADHD.