Every memory you ever had is in some respects a hallucination. You can see a scene, feel a feeling, even smell a smell at a time and in a context in which they didn’t occur at all. That’s both good ...

Ever wake up convinced something happened that actually didn’t? That vivid memory of a conversation with your friend, a movie you’re sure you watched, or an event that feels completely real but never ...

You must have heard the famous phrase attributed to Darth Vader in Episode V of the Star Wars saga, revealing to Luke Skywalker that he was his father: "Luke, I am your father." However, the fact is ...

Memory shapes us. Our beliefs, thoughts, fears, rationalities – all are shaped by our past experiences in the form of memory. Memories anchor us to the past and help us make sense of the present.

Have you ever been certain that something happened, only to later realize it never did? These experiences are more common than you might think. Known as false memories, they are recollections that ...

Picture the Monopoly Man. Is he wearing a top hat? How about a monocle? The first is true, but if you imagined the board game mascot with fancy eyewear, you have experienced a false memory. False ...

Citations: Bodenhausen, Galen. 2002. Creating Memory Illusions: Gist-based recognition and the generation of false memories. Memory. (1)63-80.

It’s easy enough to explain why we remember things: multiple regions of the brain — particularly the hippocampus — are devoted to the job. It’s easy to understand why we forget stuff too: there’s only ...