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Having read a lot of @anabjain’s work on #Futures recently, and living through unprecedented times where the future is so uncertain, I was inspired to go back to my #neuroscience background to explore the how we imagine #Futures for #amreading today
Fascinating to explore how episodic #memory (which allows us to draw on autobiographical experience) is key to imagining futures - something ppl have thought throughout time ‘[The future is] a poor sort of memory that only works backwards’ White Queen, Through the Looking Glass
I also looked at the work of @Muireann_Irish (who spoke about this at #TheBigAnxiety conference last year): https://sydney.edu.au/science/about/our-people/academic-staff/muireann-irish.html who has explored the role the #hippocampus might play
She, and others, are continuing to research how different areas of the #hippocampus is used in processes involved in mental time travel + scene construction - which allows us to ‘to the [create] or [recreate] of realities beyond our current sensory inputs’ https://digest.bps.org.uk/2014/08/12/remembering-and-imagining-both-engage-the-same-key-brain-region-but-they-depend-on-distinct-neural-processes/
Oh and I should add that the hippocampus has been shown to play a vital role in episodic memory - hence it’s role in imagining futures!
Came across an article that made me re-visit this thread from last week: #Stress screws up your ability to plan ahead https://www.futurity.org/stress-planning-ahead-2325052/ This was tested with a very specific method, so use a little caution when extrapolating it to every walk of life BUT….
It showed that stressed ppl couldn't do certain #future orientated tasks, and it appears this was due to pathways involving the #hippocampus not being activated (I wonder if this is true for depression as well?)
But the most interesting thing I took home from the article was...
But the most interesting thing I took home from the article was...
