Morgan Barense

I’m very proud to share: A smartphone intervention that enhances real-world memory and promotes differentiation of hippocampal activity in older adults.

Over the last 8 years, we developed @HippoCamera as an easy-to-use smartphone app that embodies principles from memory science to record and replay brief but powerful memory cues of everyday events.

Work led by @_chris__martin_, w/ @honey @chrishoney @bryan_hong_ @rachelnewsome @melellen_m

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2214285119

(1/4)

Dec 15, 2022 at 5:46pmMastodon Twitter Crossposter
Show threadMorgan BarenseDec 15, 2022
@honey Across two experiments, we found large benefits in older adults' recollection of event-specific details, ranging from 56% to 84%, relative to a within-subject baseline condition. This memory benefit was still evident 3 months after discontinuing HippoCamera use. (2/4)
Show threadMorgan BarenseDec 15, 2022
@honey In addition to these memory gains, a text-based natural language analysis showed that memories replayed with HippoCamera were recalled with more positive emotional sentiment, relative to baseline events. (3/4)
Show threadMorgan BarenseDec 15, 2022

Finally, with fMRI we showed that replaying memory cues increased the differentiation of activity patterns in the hippocampus, and that the degree of hippocampal differentiation was associated with greater episodic recall.

Stay tuned for more HippoCamera research! We’re running lots of studies to see whether and how HippoCamera can benefit other populations. More about the project here: https://hippocamera.com/.

Please get in touch if you’d like to use HippoCamera in your own research! (4/4)

HippoCamera

Preserving Lasting Memories For Life Events

Show threadAlex HolcombeDec 15, 2022
@barense cool. Facebook does this for me with their "on this day x years go" memories that appear in my feed.
Show threadMorgan BarenseDec 16, 2022

@alexh Thanks! Yes, Facebook prompts review of photos based on temporal anniversaries, but this could be *so much* better if it were done in a way that considers the trajectory of memory consolidation. After a year when you get the prompt, the details are gone!

With HippoCamera are trying to shore up the memories early with repeated replay while the details are still available. And the guided recorded process encourages deep encoding at the outset, so the memory is stronger in the first place.

Show threadJon SimonsDec 15, 2022
@barense Congratulations, Morgan - this looks amazing!
Show threadJudith SchomakerDec 15, 2022
@barense @honey really cool work!
Show threadJudith SchomakerDec 15, 2022
@barense @honey any chance other labs can use the app to further test it?
Show threadMorgan BarenseDec 15, 2022
@JudithSchomaker @honey
Absolutely - we want to share it! Please send me a DM or an email.
Show threadRosanna OlsenDec 15, 2022

@barense @honey

Congratulations, team!! 🍾 👍 💯

Show threadMark Baxter 🏳️‍🌈💉🧂Dec 15, 2022
@barense AMAZING MORGAN
Show threadstevenweisbergDec 15, 2022
@barense @honey incredible work, Morgan! Congratulations!!
Show threadMaria WimberDec 15, 2022
@barense @honey Such great work, congratulations team Barense!
Show threadJonathan PeelleDec 15, 2022
@barense Congratulations, so glad this is out! Such a cool study. This is the kind of thing I'm said I can't quote toot with superlatives. :)
Show threadOliver HardtDec 15, 2022
@jpeelle @barense This research reminds me of the autobiographical studies by Wagenaar 1986 Cogn Psych 18 -- everyday Wagenaar recorded one episodic memory in a pen-paper based system and then tested retention over 5 years, grouping forgetting rates in terms of salience, emotional involvement, pleaseantness. This smartphone based approach is an important advancement of research on episodic memory retention.
Show threadMorgan BarenseDec 16, 2022
@fips @jpeelle Thanks for sharing this classic paper! It really highlights the importance of cue quality in eliciting responses. I think there is so much potential here with smartphones - not only in terms of measuring memory, but also for improving it!
Show threadNatalie Peluso 🧠💜Dec 15, 2022
@barense @honey I wonder if something like your app might be used for recording visual context for episodes of anxiety or panic?
Show threadMorgan BarenseDec 16, 2022
@Natalie @honey This is a super interesting question! We are doing some work in depression. Some ideas here are that (1) exposure to these high quality cues from positive memories might help not with cognitive distortions, and (2) perhaps this reactivation of life events could serve as exposure therapy for anxiety-inducing episodes (we haven't addressed this one yet, and obv need to make sure that we are doing it in a safe way).
Show threadMorgan BarenseDec 16, 2022
@Natalie @honey Our thinking with this second point is that the over-general memories often observed in depression might be a coping/protective strategy.
Show threadNatalie Peluso 🧠💜Dec 17, 2022
@barense @honey That is great to hear and is exactly what I had in mind. 🤩​