Explore More! How New Environments May Boost Your Memory

Frontiers for Young Minds, vol. 12

Abstract

Previous scientific studies have suggested that being in new places or situations can boost memory in young adults! We wanted to find out if this effect is also present in younger children and older adults. Our results showed that children, adolescents, and young adults who spent time exploring a new environment could remember more information than people who spent time exploring a familiar environment. This means that in younger people, but not older people, memory was boosted after exploring a new place. We also discovered that these memory benefits apply to learning movement skills. In the future, we hope to understand the brain’s role in these memory benefits.

Authors 3

1. Kreeta I. L. Kerkkänen Aachen Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition Department of Health, Medical, and Neuropsychology

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition , Leiden , Netherlands

   Department of Health, Medical and Neuropsychology, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands

   Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, Netherlands

2. Marit F. L. Ruitenberg Aachen Department of Health, Medical, and Neuropsychology Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Health, Medical and Neuropsychology , Leiden University , Leiden , Netherlands

   Department of Health, Medical and Neuropsychology, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands

   Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, Netherlands

3. Judith Schomaker Aachen Department of Health, Medical, and Neuropsychology Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Health, Medical and Neuropsychology , Leiden University , Leiden , Netherlands

   Department of Health, Medical and Neuropsychology, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands

   Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, Netherlands