Using fMRI To Examine Brain Activity In Forgetting Memories Through Suppression And Substitution

Two neurologists used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the brain activity when volunteers attempt to forget memories by either blocking them out or recalling substitute memories.

Roland Benoit and Michael Anderson of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at the University of Cambridge found that these two mechanisms, substitution and suppression, are how the brain voluntary forget specific memories. This finding can lead to the development of treatments to improve disorders of memory control.