How your memory works -- and why forgetting is totally OK | Lisa Genova
TED Health
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Blocking on a Word
Blocking on a word, also called tip of the tongue, is one of the most common experiences of memory failure. Blocking on a word can occur when there is only partial or weak activation of the nerons that connect the word you're looking for. We often come up with a loosely related word instead, something similar in sound or meaning. These obliquely related words are rather unfortunately, called the ugly sister of the target. By calling off the hunt, your brain can stop perseverating on the ugly sister, giving the correct set of nerons a chance to be activated.
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