直觉或能反映可靠记忆

美研究发现：直觉或能反映可靠记忆

曾翌　科技日报 发布时间：2009-2-23 14:42:19
来源：http://www.sciencenet.cn/htmlnews/2009/2/216517.html

直觉也许反映了可靠记忆（图片来自网络）

曾几何时，人们一直把直觉，也就是所谓“第六感”带来的成功视为“侥幸”，但是人们也许不知道：直觉也许反映了可靠记忆。

“埃文斯顿，病了”——这是你能感觉到的，你确定你能下结论，但这仅仅是一种“侥幸猜中”。但是来自美国西北大学的一项新研究提供了准确的电生理学证据，证明以上结论有时并不只是猜测。

这项研究利用最新的“读脑”技术研究那些不能有意识获取的记忆的惊人准确性。在一项特殊的识别测试中，猜测跟调查参加者有意识记住的一样或者更准确。“即使在日常情况下，我们也可能知晓的比我们想象得多。”西北大学心理学教授肯·帕勒说，潜意识记忆发挥着作用，例如，识记罪犯和考试正确答案，或者在一大堆消费品中选择是由在潜意识层面非常活跃的记忆决定的。

这项研究把“侥幸猜中”同可靠记忆联系起来，建议人们要接受多种类型的知识。

在记忆测试的第一阶段，参与者们会在电脑屏幕上看到许多缤纷变幻的图案。参与者们尝试着全神贯注记住一半图案。他们在看图片的时候，会听到一些号码，例如3、8、4，他们必须记住这些号码并且判断其奇偶，然后回答下一题。每一题都会听到一个新数字，他们需要按键完成奇偶判断任务。也就是说，他们在试图记住一半图案的同时，被另外的任务极大地分心。

一会儿之后，他们观看一组组相似的图案来进行识记测试。“很明显的，参与者们能更准确的挑选出老图案，但观看这些老图案时是分心的而非全神贯注的。”帕勒说。“同样的，如果叫他们猜，他们会更准确。”

在记忆力测试中，分散注意力通常使记忆不佳。“但是我们研究结果显示，即使注意力被分散，视觉系统仍能很好的储存信息。”帕勒说。

当隐性识记发生时，脑波明显不同于有意识识记时的脑波。当参与者看到一幅老图片时，一种独特的隐性识记信号就被观测到。

这项发现包括记忆效应和脑波效应。“这种独特的结果表明，当人们记忆时，他们能比他们以为的知道更多。”帕勒说。

这项研究基于一项认为健忘症患者拥有强大的隐性记忆的研究。

研究人员建议不应该只依赖于有意识的记忆，帕勒总结说：“我们也必须培养自己的直觉天性和创造性。直觉也许一直对于解决生活中各种问题扮演着至关重要的角色，甚至包括一些大问题，如经济危机的解决方案。”

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That Gut Feeling May Actually Reflect a Reliable Memory

February 10, 2009 
来源：http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2009/02/paller.html


EVANSTON, Ill. --- You know the feeling. You make a decision you’re certain is merely a “lucky guess.”

A new study from Northwestern University offers precise electrophysiological evidence that such decisions may sometimes not be guesswork after all.

The research utilizes the latest brain-reading technology to point to the surprising accuracy of memories that can’t be consciously accessed.

During a special recognition test, guesses turned out to be as accurate or more accurate than when study participants thought they consciously remembered.

“We may actually know more than we think we know in everyday situations, too,” said Ken Paller, professor of psychology at Northwestern in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. “Unconscious memory may come into play, for example, in recognizing the face of a perpetrator of a crime or the correct answer on a test. Or the choice from a horde of consumer products may be driven by memories that are quite alive on an unconscious level.”

The study links lucky guesses to valid memories and suggests that people need to be more receptive to multiple types of knowledge, Paller said.

Paller and Joel L. Voss, who received his Ph.D. at Northwestern and is now at the Beckman Institute, are co-investigators of the study. “An Electrophysiological Signature of Unconscious Recognition Memory” will be published online Feb. 8 by the journal Nature Neuroscience.

During the first part of the memory test, study participants were shown a series of colorful kaleidoscope images that flashed on a computer screen. Half of the images were viewed with full attention as participants tried to memorize them.

While viewing each of the other images, they heard a spoken number, such as 3, 8 or 4, which they had to keep in mind until the next trial, when they indicated whether it was odd or even. On every trial they had to listen to a new number and press a button to complete the number task.

In other words, they could focus on memorizing half of the images but were greatly distracted from memorizing the others.

A short time later, they viewed pairs of similar kaleidoscope images in a recognition test.

“Remarkably, people were more accurate in selecting the old image when they had been distracted than when they had paid full attention,” Paller said. “They also were more accurate when they claimed to be guessing than when they registered some familiarity for the image.”

Splitting attention during a memory test usually makes memory worse. “But our research showed that even when people weren’t paying as much attention, their visual system was storing information quite well,” Paller said.

When implicit recognition took place, EEG signals were recorded from a set of electrodes placed on each person’s head. The brain waves were distinct from those associated with conscious memory experiences. A unique signal of implicit recognition was seen a quarter of a second after study participants saw each old image.

“The novel results show that when people try to remember, they can know more than they think they know,” Paller said.

The study builds upon a body of research that shows that amnesia victims with severe memory problems often have strong implicit memories.

The study suggests that we shouldn’t rely only on conscious memory, Paller concludes. “It suggests that we also need to develop our intuitive nature and creativity." Intuition may have an important role in finding answers to all sorts of problems in everyday life.