Research from Munich shows that short-form videos like TikTok impair users' ability to remember and execute planned tasks, with TikTok significantly degrading prospective memory performance compared to other platforms like Twitter and YouTube, despite not being more engaging. This effect highlights the cognitive costs of highly engaging, fast-paced video content.
A randomized clinical trial has found that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can improve event-based prospective memory in individuals with schizophrenia. The study compared 50 schizophrenia patients with healthy controls and found that while both event-based and time-based prospective memory scores were initially lower in patients, rTMS significantly improved event-based memory to levels comparable with controls. However, time-based memory did not show similar improvement. These findings offer a potential therapeutic avenue for addressing memory impairments in schizophrenia.
A new study from the University of Notre Dame found that memory errors, such as forgetting a child in a car, occur when environmental cues fail to trigger memory of an intention at the right moment. The study found no evidence to support the idea that one gender is more likely to forget a child in a car than the other. The researchers believe their findings can contribute to public and legal understanding of such memory errors, potentially exonerating parents who suffer this tragic mistake.