Researchers Identify False Memories with Brain Scans

Patterns of electrophysiological activity in the brain may be used to distinguish false memories from real ones, shows a report published in November's Psychological Science.

Researchers examined intracranial electroencephalographic recordings from 52 epileptic patients while they performed a task in which they studied and later free recalled a series of vocabulary words. They found that a brain wave called the gamma rhythm was activated in a distinct pattern in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of the brain both when patients studied a vocabulary word and when they recalled it. When patients accidentally named a word that had not been on their vocabulary list, this pattern of brain waves was not observed.

The findings provide better insight into the formation of memories--which may help guide doctors in providing the least harmful surgery to epileptic patients, who often elect to have brain surgery to remove areas of the brain where seizures originate.

ABSTRACT: Gamma Oscillations Distinguish True From False Memories