full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Elizabeth Cox: The surprising link between stress and memory

Unscramble the Blue Letters


You spend weeks studying for an irptonmat test. On the big day, you wait noserulvy as your teacher hands it out. You’re working your way through, when you’re asked to define ‘ataraxia.’ You know you’ve seen it before, but your mind goes blank. What just haenpped?

The awsner lies in the complex ranhsltiieop between stress and memory. There are many tepys and degrees of stress and different kinds of memory, but we’re going to focus on how short-term setrss impacts your memory for fctas.

To sratt, it helps to understand how this kind of memory works. Facts you read, hear, or study become memories through a process with three main steps. First comes acquisition: the moment you encounter a new piece of information. Each sensory experience activates a unique set of brain areas.

Open Cloze


You spend weeks studying for an _________ test. On the big day, you wait _________ as your teacher hands it out. You’re working your way through, when you’re asked to define ‘ataraxia.’ You know you’ve seen it before, but your mind goes blank. What just ________?

The ______ lies in the complex ____________ between stress and memory. There are many _____ and degrees of stress and different kinds of memory, but we’re going to focus on how short-term ______ impacts your memory for _____.

To _____, it helps to understand how this kind of memory works. Facts you read, hear, or study become memories through a process with three main steps. First comes acquisition: the moment you encounter a new piece of information. Each sensory experience activates a unique set of brain areas.

Solution


  1. types
  2. stress
  3. start
  4. facts
  5. relationship
  6. important
  7. answer
  8. happened
  9. nervously

Original Text


You spend weeks studying for an important test. On the big day, you wait nervously as your teacher hands it out. You’re working your way through, when you’re asked to define ‘ataraxia.’ You know you’ve seen it before, but your mind goes blank. What just happened?

The answer lies in the complex relationship between stress and memory. There are many types and degrees of stress and different kinds of memory, but we’re going to focus on how short-term stress impacts your memory for facts.

To start, it helps to understand how this kind of memory works. Facts you read, hear, or study become memories through a process with three main steps. First comes acquisition: the moment you encounter a new piece of information. Each sensory experience activates a unique set of brain areas.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
sensory experience 2
prefrontal cortex 2
moderate stress 2
chronic stress 2
deep breaths 2


Important Words


  1. activates
  2. answer
  3. areas
  4. asked
  5. big
  6. blank
  7. brain
  8. complex
  9. day
  10. define
  11. degrees
  12. encounter
  13. experience
  14. facts
  15. focus
  16. hands
  17. happened
  18. hear
  19. helps
  20. impacts
  21. important
  22. information
  23. kind
  24. kinds
  25. lies
  26. main
  27. memories
  28. memory
  29. mind
  30. moment
  31. nervously
  32. piece
  33. process
  34. read
  35. relationship
  36. sensory
  37. set
  38. spend
  39. start
  40. steps
  41. stress
  42. study
  43. studying
  44. teacher
  45. test
  46. types
  47. understand
  48. unique
  49. wait
  50. weeks
  51. working
  52. works