Summary: Embarking in 30 minutes of strategic memory training for 40 days more than doubles the capacity for memory recall, a new study reports.

Source: Radboud University.

The ability to perform astonishing feats of memory, such as remembering lists of several dozen words, can be learned, Radboud researchers report in Neuron on March 8.

After 40 days of daily 30-minute training sessions using a strategic memory improvement technique, individuals who had typical memory skills at the start and no previous memory training more than doubled their memory capacity, going from recalling an average of 26 words from a list of 72 to remembering 62. Four months later, without continued training, recall performance remained high.

Brain scans before and after training showed that strategic memory training altered the brain functions of the trainees, making them more similar to those of world champion memory athletes. “After training we see massively increased performance…