Summary: New research links multimedia multitasking with memory lapses and reduced attention, revealing physiological markers that predict forgetting.
Source: Stanford
Researchers at Stanford have identified measurable signs in the brain and eyes that predict whether a person is likely to remember or forget. Their findings connect attention lapses, pupil size, and specific brain wave patterns to variability in memory performance.
“There are moments when people know something but can’t bring it to mind,” said Anthony Wagner, the Lucie Stern Professor in the Social Sciences at Stanford. “We now have tools that help explain why someone may fail to remember at a particular moment.”
Beyond revealing why memory succeeds or fails from moment to moment, the team also explored individual differences in memory and how frequent media multitasking may contribute to poorer recall.
Published in the journal Nature, this research starts to answer questions with implications for everyday memory, interventions to boost attention, and our understanding of memory-related conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Pupil size and alpha power
To study how attention relates to memory, the researchers recorded pupil diameter and brain activity in 80 participants aged 18 to 26. Brain monitoring focused on posterior alpha power—EEG rhythms at the back of the head—while participants performed tasks that required recalling items or detecting changes in previously viewed images.
“Increases in alpha power at the back of the skull have been linked to attention lapses, mind wandering and distractibility,” said Kevin Madore, a postdoctoral fellow in the Stanford Memory Lab and lead author of the study. “We also know that a constricted pupil diameter before a task can predict worse performance, like slower reaction times and greater mind wandering.”
The study measured sustained attention by asking participants to notice gradual changes in images. Media multitasking habits were assessed through self-reports about how often individuals juggle media—such as texting while watching television—within a typical hour. Comparing these measures with memory task performance, the researchers found that participants with poorer sustained attention and those who multitasked more heavily tended to perform worse on memory tests.
Wagner and Madore stress that their results demonstrate correlations rather than direct causation. “We cannot conclude that heavy media multitasking causes attention problems and memory failures,” Madore said, “but we are learning more about how these factors interact.”
Prepare to remember
The team emphasizes the importance of what happens before an attempt to remember. Memory retrieval depends on goal-directed cognition: being prepared, focusing attention, and having a clear memory goal all increase the chance of successfully reactivating relevant memories.
“Attention matters not only during learning but in the moments leading up to remembering,” Wagner explained. “The brain state before retrieval influences whether you can reactivate the memory you need for your current goal.”
Many factors that affect this state are within our control. Simple strategies—such as consciously checking your level of attention, preparing mentally to remember, and reducing distractions—can improve the likelihood of successful recall by shaping both mindset and environment.
“Hacking” memory
Beyond common-sense strategies, the researchers anticipate targeted interventions that train attention or respond in real time to lapses. These closed-loop interventions are an active area of research and could eventually help people maintain engagement and improve memory.
One envisioned application is a wearable eye sensor that monitors pupil size to detect attention lapses. If the device identifies a decline in attentional readiness, it could cue the wearer to refocus, potentially enhancing learning or recall in real time.
Improved methods for measuring attentional states and how goal-driven processes guide memory also offer promise for understanding memory decline in aging and disease. “We now have a chance to study how attention networks, goal use, and memory interact to explain individual differences in older adults, both outside and in relation to Alzheimer’s disease,” Wagner said.
Co-authors include Anthony Norcia, professor of psychology at Stanford; graduate student Anna Khazenzon; coterminal master’s student Cameron Backes; postdoctoral scholar Jiefeng Jiang; and Melina Uncapher, assistant professor of neurology at UCSF.
Funding: This work was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Aging under NIH grants R56MH111672, R01AG065255 and F32AG059341.
About this neuroscience research news
Source: Stanford
Contact: Ker Than, Stanford
Image: Credit to Stanford
Original Research: The study will appear in Nature