An article in the May 4 issue of Stanford Report discusses a study co-authored by CHP/PCOR associate Brian Knutson that examines the link between the brain's reward circuits, which drive motivation, and its memory system, which facilitates learning.

For the study, published in the May 4 issue of the journal Neuron, subjects were given a list of pictures to remember for a test the following day. Prior to seeing the images, the subjects were told how much money they would get for recognizing each of them correctly. The subjects' brain activity was monitored throughout the experiment, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Researchers found that the subjects were better able to recall the more pictures that were worth more money.

The results of the study -- which was co-authored by Stanford visiting researcher Alison Adcock -- show for the first time that brain activity can predict what people will remember, even before the experience they will remember occurs.