When students studied the same material twice, in back-to-back sessions, they did very well on a test given immediately afterward, then began to forget the material.

But if they studied the passage just once and did a practice test in the second session, they did very well on one test two days later, and another given a week later.

“Testing has such bad connotation; people think of standardized testing or teaching to the test,” Dr. Roediger said. “Maybe we need to call it something else, but this is one of the most powerful learning tools we have.”

very cool and rather frightening

"It doesn’t matter if we’re working on a mathematical equation or working through a broken heart: the anatomy of focus is inseparable from the anatomy of melancholy."

also see Louis Menand's article about the nature of biological psychiatry in the New Yorker this week...

"the more gadgets we own, the more distracted we become, and the more we need help in order to focus" ... "Neuroenhancers don’t offer freedom. Rather, they facilitate a pinched, unromantic, grindingly efficient form of productivity."

During slumber, our brain engages in data analysis, from strengthening memories to solving problems

many people are taking matters into their own hands, doing brain fitness exercises with the same intensity with which they attack a treadmill.