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of Um wherever you listen to

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podcasts. And

0:59

now it's time for Who's Smarted. Psst,

1:03

hey smarty pants, question. Have you ever

1:05

thought about something you experienced in the

1:07

past and found that you can recall

1:09

all or most of the details about

1:12

it? Me too. In fact,

1:14

I do it all the time. There's

1:16

a word for those types of thoughts. Do you know what

1:18

it is? Did you

1:20

say memories? You're right. And

1:24

conjuring up memories, otherwise known

1:26

as remembering, is a super

1:28

useful ability that nearly all

1:30

humans share. To

1:32

learn more about memory, I've decided

1:35

to visit a large university where

1:37

all kinds of interesting memory-related tests

1:39

and studies take place. Now

1:41

if I could just remember the code to get

1:43

in the security door. That's

1:46

not it. Nope,

1:48

not that either. Got

1:51

it. Okay, I admit, I

1:53

cheated. I had the code in my phone,

1:55

which is a good lesson. You should always

1:58

write important things down, smarty pants. rather

2:00

than just relying on your memory. Ah.

2:04

That being said, your memory is a

2:06

remarkable asset, and I can't wait to

2:08

learn more about it from my scientist

2:11

friend, Clara. Clara specializes in

2:13

the field of memory, and she invited me

2:15

to her research lab. Hmm.

2:17

If I could only remember what room she's in.

2:20

And... I forgot to write that down. Oh,

2:23

well, I can't always text her. Tofki?

2:27

Oh, so close. I'm

2:30

so excited you could visit my cognitive

2:32

psychology lab! Cognitive psychology,

2:34

huh? Smarty Pants, do you know

2:37

what cognitive means, or what cognitive

2:39

psychology studies? Clara,

2:41

maybe you could explain. I, um... forgot.

2:45

Awwww. The

2:47

words cognitive or cognition have

2:49

to do with thinking or thought. Cognitive

2:52

psychology is a scientific study

2:55

of mental processes such as

2:57

attention, language use, perception,

3:00

problem solving, creativity,

3:02

reasoning, and... Memory!

3:06

Nice! You

3:09

remembered. Well, it is

3:11

why I'm here. I'm hoping you can

3:13

help answer some basic memory questions such

3:16

as, what exactly are memories? Why

3:19

are most people able to remember certain events

3:21

from the past, but others not so much?

3:23

Huh? And is it true that your

3:25

memories can begin before you're even born?

3:30

Great! Let's get started! It's

3:32

time for another whiff of science and

3:34

history on... Hello,

3:36

Smart Ed! Smart

3:40

Ed! How

3:42

smart is it now? Does

3:45

it mean? Is it science

3:47

or history? Listen

3:49

up! Everyone, we

3:51

make smarty! Class

3:54

of fun! Hello, Smart Ed! Alright,

3:57

Clara. Where should we start? Ooh,

3:59

let's start! with a simple memory test,

4:01

Trusty. I'm going to say five

4:04

words and I just want you to

4:06

repeat them back to me in order.

4:08

Got it? Sounds easy enough. Smarty

4:10

pants, play along too. Okay, here we

4:12

go. Mouse, car,

4:18

flower, balloon,

4:24

and skateboard. Okay,

4:27

I'm gonna repeat them all back to me in

4:29

that order. Mouse, car,

4:33

flower, balloon, and

4:35

skateboard. Perfect. How'd

4:38

you do, smarty pants? Did you get them all? Nice

4:41

job if you did. I gotta say,

4:43

Clara, you got a lot of cool-looking gadgets in your

4:45

lab, like these VR

4:47

or virtual reality headsets. Some

4:50

smarty pants may remember we did an

4:52

episode of Who Smarted on virtual reality.

4:55

Anyway, why all the headsets, Clara? I

4:58

could tell you. Or you can

5:00

see for yourself. Put on a headset

5:02

while I pull up a program on

5:04

my laptop. Okay,

5:07

all set. Great. Just

5:09

a few seconds more. Okay,

5:12

go ahead. Tell me what you see. Wow,

5:14

there's a lot going on in here. It looks

5:17

like a game of laser tag. Great

5:21

description, but guess what? You're

5:23

not in a futuristic fantasy land.

5:26

You're actually getting a look inside a

5:28

part of your body. Really?

5:30

All this is

5:32

happening inside me?

5:34

Yep. Hmm, smarty pants.

5:36

Any idea what part of my body I'm

5:39

looking at? Is

5:41

it my heart, my brain, or

5:44

my stomach? If

5:46

you said my brain, you're right. Okay,

5:51

one last adjustment. What

5:55

do you see now? I see

5:58

lights flashing on and off. They

6:00

kind of look like lightning. Uh-huh.

6:04

Most scientists have concluded your memories

6:06

are held within different groups of

6:08

neurons, which are specialized

6:11

cells designed to transmit

6:13

information. Ah,

6:16

so is that what these lightning strikes are? Precisely.

6:19

Any guesses how many neurons there can

6:21

be in a human brain? Uh, let's

6:24

all take a stab at this, smarty pants. Is

6:26

it A, 1000, B, 1 million, C, 1 billion, or D,

6:29

nearly 100 billion? Hmm.

6:36

I'm thinking a million sounds like a

6:38

lot, but probably not enough. A

6:41

billion is a huge number of neurons, but

6:43

I bet that isn't enough. So

6:45

I'm gonna go with D, nearly 100 billion.

6:47

What do you think, smarty pants? Do you

6:50

agree? Well,

6:52

if you agreed with trusty, you're...

6:54

right! Yes!

6:58

But also... whoa... Smarty

7:01

pants, can you believe all that's going

7:03

on inside your brain? Amazing! Yep!

7:06

And there are hundreds of types

7:08

of neurons, each performing different functions.

7:12

Okay, hang on trusty, I just need to pop

7:14

something into the microwave for a few seconds. Ooh!

7:20

Are you getting hungry too? A

7:23

little, but that's not why I'm doing this.

7:25

Ah, it's done

7:27

already. Okay,

7:31

trusty, while you're still looking

7:33

at your brain with the VR headset,

7:36

I'm going to wave something under your nose. Take

7:39

a big whiff and describe what you see. Hey,

7:43

is that what I think it is? Wow,

7:45

look at all those lights flashing. The

7:48

smell is familiar. It reminds me of

7:50

something my grandma likes to cook. Who

7:52

wants meat cake? That's it! It

7:55

smells like my grandma's famous meat cake. Yep!

7:58

In fact, I baked it.

8:00

a meat cake using your grandma's famous

8:02

family recipe. Really? I

8:04

can't believe she shared her recipe. Oh,

8:06

I would never deprive someone from enjoying

8:09

meat cake. Anyway, the recipe

8:11

isn't the important part. What

8:13

is important is for you to see how

8:15

interconnected nerve cells fire up as

8:17

a group when presented with a

8:19

specific stimuli. In this case,

8:22

the smell of meat cake. Nom nom

8:24

nom nom nom. And the more

8:26

familiar the stimuli, the stronger the response

8:28

that gets triggered. Ah, so

8:31

basically you used my sense of smell

8:33

to form a connection to a previous

8:35

life experience which triggered a memory that

8:37

my brain then recalled. Exactly,

8:39

trusty. That's what's

8:42

known as associative memory and it's stored

8:44

in a region of your brain known

8:46

as the hippocampus. Not

8:51

the hippopotamus, the hippocampus. Sorry.

8:55

Losing the hippo sound. Question.

8:58

Is there a specific place within your brain that

9:00

holds all your memories? Like the way a computer's

9:02

hard drive stores all its files? Good

9:05

question. What do you think, smarty pants?

9:07

True or false? Are all your memories

9:09

stored in one specific place inside your

9:11

brain? If you

9:13

said false, you're

9:16

right. Wow, so

9:18

memories are stored in more than just one part of your

9:20

brain? Yep. Certain

9:22

areas of your brain create and store

9:25

different types of memories. Here, let's do

9:27

another experiment to demonstrate. What

9:31

do you see now, trusty? Oh,

9:34

looks like we've moved to a different part of

9:36

the brain. I see a nice, sandy beach. The

9:38

ocean looks calm. Pretty

9:42

relaxing, right? Oh yeah. How

9:44

about now? Ah,

9:48

where'd that zombie come from? I

9:52

gotta get out of here. I gotta get out of here! Ah,

9:59

here comes another zombie! Yup,

10:02

everything is lighting up like fireworks. Bingo!

10:07

You're now in a region of

10:09

your brain known as the amygdala.

10:11

When you or I or anyone

10:14

experiences anxiety, stress, or fear, the

10:16

amygdala secretes hormones that prepares your

10:18

body to either fight the threat

10:22

or flee the scene. Both

10:25

the hippocampus and the amygdala are structures

10:27

in an area called the temporal lobe

10:29

that make up what's known as your

10:32

limbic system. Okay,

10:34

a little complicated but nonetheless amazing. I guess

10:36

the same thing happens when you're nervous about

10:39

an upcoming test in school. Or

10:43

if you're about to go on stage to play with the school

10:45

band. Or

10:49

being chased by zombies. What

10:53

can I say? They looked so real! And

10:56

all of those neurons in my brain were popping like crazy. No

10:59

doubt. Those were the synapses firing up.

11:03

Synapses? Yup. The

11:05

place where neurons connect and communicate

11:07

with each other are called synapses.

11:09

There are hundreds, if not thousands,

11:11

of synaptic connections flashing on and

11:14

off depending on the stimuli or

11:16

motivating factors. Ah,

11:20

so there's sort of a circuitry or wiring that runs through your

11:22

brain linking things up? What

11:26

do you think, smarty pants? Is trusty right? Of

11:30

course he is! Great job, T.N. Thanks.

11:34

So, why are some memories forgotten pretty

11:36

quickly? While other

11:38

memories are more long-term. Does

11:42

it have anything to do with synapses? It

11:46

sure does! What happens is... Coming up right

11:48

after this short break. Hi!

11:54

Trusty here with a special message for

11:56

all the parents and guardians listening. I

11:59

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eating. Now

16:44

back to Who's Smarted. I

16:58

asked you to repeat five different words in order.

17:01

Do you still remember them? Oh

17:03

boy, I think so. What

17:05

about you Smarty Pants? Can you remember the five

17:07

words in order from earlier? Ready?

17:11

Mouse. Car.

17:14

Flower. Balloon.

17:21

Yep, one more. I'm

17:23

having trouble remembering the last word. Smarty Pants,

17:25

a little help? Ah,

17:30

that's right, skateboard. Thanks

17:32

Smarties. That little experiment is

17:34

an example of what happens inside your

17:36

brain when it comes to short-term memory.

17:39

When presented with simple, rather mundane

17:41

or ordinary stimuli, your neurons haven't

17:44

had a chance to gain any strength

17:46

through repetition. It's all too new. I

17:48

see. Memories are created by

17:51

the reactivation of certain groups of

17:53

neurons that are formed by the

17:55

repetition within your synaptic connections. Aha,

17:58

is that why... Your long term

18:01

memory is often better because you're neurons

18:03

and their synopsis of repeated the process

18:05

more times. Indeed, of them

18:07

more than a group of neurons

18:09

fire up as a unit in

18:11

response to a specific stimulus. The

18:14

stronger those interconnections that. Particular

18:18

I have to ask: Is it possible

18:20

for humans to create memories before they're

18:22

even born? It. Sounds crazy. But

18:24

researchers in Europe have done

18:27

experiments placing speakers on the

18:29

belly of pregnant mothers and

18:31

playing various stimuli like random

18:33

sounds. Ribbit. Ribbit. or. Music.

18:38

Believe it or not, the unborn

18:40

fetus reflecting nice the sounds and

18:42

know they aren't a threat. Really?

18:45

even certain voices light apparent

18:48

reading a story to an

18:50

unborn child goodnight Moon appear

18:52

to be recognized very early

18:54

on. Ah, Speaking

18:57

of random sounds, I forgot that

18:59

he learns. Night have plenty of

19:02

meat take. Ah, forget it.

19:06

A big long time and the making

19:08

a shoutout to Astrid in Santa Clara

19:10

California who has been waiting for a

19:12

shutout since we'd shouted at sea Camp

19:14

skew citizen once he camps and and

19:16

I said the can't stand with your

19:18

son forever and you said you wanted

19:20

soup and I said like Aqua Man

19:22

and you said yes. See.

19:25

I remembered. I was just waiting for

19:27

the Memories episode to thank you for

19:29

smarting with us Smarty Pants. This episode

19:32

Memories was written by Dave Davis and

19:34

voice by Jehovah's and Juri Colder.

19:36

Technical direction and sound design by Josh

19:38

Homme Who's Smart. It is recorded and

19:41

mixed up The Road Crew Studios are

19:43

so she producers Max Come Asking. The

19:45

theme song is by Brian Sources

19:47

with lyrics written and performed by Adam

19:50

Text Davis Who? Smart? It was created

19:52

and produced by Adam Text Davis. And

19:55

Juri Colbert. This has been an

19:57

Atomic Entertainment production. No.

20:02

My God.