Charan Ranganath

Okay. So how quick was it that you were able to say no, that you were able to think about it and go, I've never eaten rambutan?

Okay. So how quick was it that you were able to say no, that you were able to think about it and go, I've never eaten rambutan?

Okay. So you didn't have to search your entire memory for whether or not you've eaten rambutan. You know because it's so unfamiliar, right? Correct. Things that are highly familiar, like maybe I'll ask, have you eaten a banana before or grapes before? You can say yes. And partly, you don't even have to remember any instance. It just feels right. Those are very familiar things to you.

Okay. So you didn't have to search your entire memory for whether or not you've eaten rambutan. You know because it's so unfamiliar, right? Correct. Things that are highly familiar, like maybe I'll ask, have you eaten a banana before or grapes before? You can say yes. And partly, you don't even have to remember any instance. It just feels right. Those are very familiar things to you.

Okay. So you didn't have to search your entire memory for whether or not you've eaten rambutan. You know because it's so unfamiliar, right? Correct. Things that are highly familiar, like maybe I'll ask, have you eaten a banana before or grapes before? You can say yes. And partly, you don't even have to remember any instance. It just feels right. Those are very familiar things to you.

Have you ever seen a grape before? Yes, of course you have, right? Apple, very familiar to people. So we just have that general fluency. And you can look at this like you go into the grocery store and you see someone and you're like, I know I've seen this person before. Where have I seen them before?

Have you ever seen a grape before? Yes, of course you have, right? Apple, very familiar to people. So we just have that general fluency. And you can look at this like you go into the grocery store and you see someone and you're like, I know I've seen this person before. Where have I seen them before?

Have you ever seen a grape before? Yes, of course you have, right? Apple, very familiar to people. So we just have that general fluency. And you can look at this like you go into the grocery store and you see someone and you're like, I know I've seen this person before. Where have I seen them before?

And then you leave and eventually you're like, oh, well, that was somebody who I met at this conference or something like that. But you weren't expecting them at this context and no episodic memory was triggered. But there was something about their features that felt very fluent and natural to you and triggered that sense of familiarity.

And then you leave and eventually you're like, oh, well, that was somebody who I met at this conference or something like that. But you weren't expecting them at this context and no episodic memory was triggered. But there was something about their features that felt very fluent and natural to you and triggered that sense of familiarity.

And then you leave and eventually you're like, oh, well, that was somebody who I met at this conference or something like that. But you weren't expecting them at this context and no episodic memory was triggered. But there was something about their features that felt very fluent and natural to you and triggered that sense of familiarity.

And that seems to be processed, and you can see brain activity associated with that in the perirhinal cortex. And people with damage to the perirhinal cortex seem to not differentiate between the rambutan and the banana. It's all kind of unfamiliar to them. They might remember, I've eaten a banana, but they don't necessarily have that sense of familiarity.

And that seems to be processed, and you can see brain activity associated with that in the perirhinal cortex. And people with damage to the perirhinal cortex seem to not differentiate between the rambutan and the banana. It's all kind of unfamiliar to them. They might remember, I've eaten a banana, but they don't necessarily have that sense of familiarity.

And that seems to be processed, and you can see brain activity associated with that in the perirhinal cortex. And people with damage to the perirhinal cortex seem to not differentiate between the rambutan and the banana. It's all kind of unfamiliar to them. They might remember, I've eaten a banana, but they don't necessarily have that sense of familiarity.

And Rebecca Burwell at Brown University did the coolest experiment that doesn't nearly get... You know how in science you get these unsung hero experiments? Well, this was one of them where she stimulated in rats the perirhinal cortex at this frequency called the beta frequency, which is kind of a relatively low frequency oscillation, and basically put two objects in front of the animal.

And Rebecca Burwell at Brown University did the coolest experiment that doesn't nearly get... You know how in science you get these unsung hero experiments? Well, this was one of them where she stimulated in rats the perirhinal cortex at this frequency called the beta frequency, which is kind of a relatively low frequency oscillation, and basically put two objects in front of the animal.

And Rebecca Burwell at Brown University did the coolest experiment that doesn't nearly get... You know how in science you get these unsung hero experiments? Well, this was one of them where she stimulated in rats the perirhinal cortex at this frequency called the beta frequency, which is kind of a relatively low frequency oscillation, and basically put two objects in front of the animal.

And so, like, typically if there's a new object, the animal will spend more time, like, exploring it, right? Yeah. And depending on how she timed the stimulation, she could make the animal think that a familiar object was novel. She stimulates at a different frequency. I think it was gamma. And the animal now thinks – or actually it was like – yeah.

And so, like, typically if there's a new object, the animal will spend more time, like, exploring it, right? Yeah. And depending on how she timed the stimulation, she could make the animal think that a familiar object was novel. She stimulates at a different frequency. I think it was gamma. And the animal now thinks – or actually it was like – yeah.

And so, like, typically if there's a new object, the animal will spend more time, like, exploring it, right? Yeah. And depending on how she timed the stimulation, she could make the animal think that a familiar object was novel. She stimulates at a different frequency. I think it was gamma. And the animal now thinks – or actually it was like – yeah.