memory

When you have to remember many things at once, you might try to juggle all those to-do items in your head simultaneously. But new scientific research suggests there might be a better approach.

Our sense of smell isn't simply a powerful trigger. It's a draw to scientists — and to a flourishing subculture in Los Angeles, where amateur perfumers collect fragrances like others collect stamps.

Childhood amnesia descends gradually — and later than you might think, researchers say. Many 7-year-olds have robust memories of experiences from when they were 3 or even younger.

Scientists have identified special cells in the brain's hippocampus that mimic a trick of some digital cameras. These cells automatically 'tag' the memory of each event in our lives with information about where that event took place — the better to recall, perhaps, where we left our lost keys.

Age-related fumbles of memory are often feared as early signs of Alzheimer's dementia, but recent research confirms an important difference. The underlying biology of the two sorts of memory loss aren't the same. And the age-related form may be reversible someday.

Research into why some people have strong memory well into old age suggests that their brains are different from their peers. Some parts of the brains of "superagers" responsible for attention, thinking and memory seem to be spared the typical age-related shrinkage.