CAN MEMORIES BE REPRESSED?
Freud’s theory of repression has intrigued psychologists since the 1930s, but nobody has proved it exists. Cognitive neuroscientist Michael Anderson, who runs a memory lab at the University of Oregon, believes he’s got the goods. “You don’t have to subscribe to highly specialized mechanisms like the ones Freud might have proposed,” says Anderson. “You can explain it with very well-respected ideas in neuroscience and psychology.” For instance, he says, we all exercise what is known as executive control. We can focus our attention on one thing and ignore distractions. Scientists have shown a sequence of letters to individuals and told them that each time they see a letter, they should press a key—except when the letter X appears. “These are called go/no-go procedures,” says Anderson. “They’re set up so the individual gets into a rhythm of seeing letters and pressing the key, and when X appears, they have to stop themselves.” Monkey studies have shown that the no-go response is associated
