A study developed by researchers from CINTESIS/University of Aveiro reveals that the human memory retains better objects used by sick people than objects used by healthy people.
According to the published results, the greater ease in memorizing potentially contaminating objects can be explained by the functioning of a behavioral immune system that aims to “prevent contact with possible sources of infection.”
Natália Fernandes and Josefa Pandeirada, the two CINTESIS researchers who carried out the study, asked about two hundred volunteers to memorize a set of objects associated with sick people and healthy people. In the end, it was concluded that volunteers memorized better objects that could pose a greater risk of contamination and disease.
This selective memorization is a mechanism developed throughout the evolution of the species, aiming at the survival and adaptation of the human being in the face of possible threats.
In the future, these findings may help to outline new and more effective strategies for the prevention of infectious diseases using memory for the benefit of Public Health.