The Magic and Mechanics of Memory
A detailed exploration of the latest research into how memory works and how we can
harness its resources.
(Writer's note. This text is adapted and augmented from Kate Bendall's excellent
article in New Scientist 17th May 2003. Whilst the key neurological insights are
based on Kate's work, the applications are the result of my own reflection and from
the positive influence of the insights of Tony Buzan and Neuro-Linguistic Programming.
The association of the ideas here does not imply endorsement by any party of the
other sources.)
Introduction
Understanding how our Memory Systems work is an important first step in getting
access to the infinite potential of our Memory. In this article, we will examine
what we currently know about the working of memory, and accompany each discovery
with a relevant application that will help you advance your career, or boost your
business effectiveness, or enhance your confidence in just how magnificently made
you really are.
Sources of our discoveries...
Our understanding of memory comes from two levels. At a macro level we have been
able to deduce much about how memory is organised in the brain by studying changes
in memory performance when an area of the brain is damaged or removed. Neurological
disorders destroy very specific localised areas in the brain, and thus allow us
to study what systems have been left unharmed. At a micro level there are obvious
ethical dilemmas concerning experiments with human nervous systems. Furthermore,
the human brain is just too complex for us to follow what happens at the level of
individual neurons. As a result, we have learned much of how we think neurons work
from the study of simpler nervous systems. Especially helpful have been the study
of Squid (whose neurons have huge axons almost 1mm in diameter) and the Sea Slug
Aplysia (whose complete nervous system consists of around 20,000 nerve
cells.) Eric Kandel (Columbia University, New York) gained a Nobel Prize in 2000
for his work on understanding memory through studying Aplysia.
A word of caution...
Before we proceed, let us recognise that our current understanding of memory systems
is based primarily on the study of damaged brains (at the macro level) and simpler
nervous systems (at the micro level). This means that we are probably right in our
assumptions about how a healthy human brain works, but we are not definite.
1. Multiple Memory Systems
It is useful to make a distinction between short-term memory and
long-term memory.
Short-term memory is our working memory. This
is a collaborative memory, harnessing multiple parts of the brain working together
in harmony. It is fully conscious, and lasts for mere seconds. The supervisor of
this system is the Frontal Cortex.
1.1 Multiple Memory Systems: Short-term Memory
This kind of memory is dependable, but its capacity is limited. In our workshops
we often make the distinction between the Conscious Mind and the Pre-Conscious Mind.
The Conscious Mind can only really concentrate on one thing as a time. The Pre-Conscious
Mind can hold 7+/-2 units of information in a waiting pattern - allowing alternate
units to drift in and out of conscious attention. This is why you can be in a busy
meeting, planning your future destiny, and in the next instant you are considering
the options for lunch - attention drifting from one subject to another. My favourite
metaphor for levels of consciousness is that of a major airport. At any one time
there may be a seemingly infinite number of aeroplanes travelling from all over
the World to this airport, however most of them are 'off the scope'. This metaphorically
represents the infinite, yet unconscious capacity of the Para-Conscious Mind. Yet
the control tower needs to be consciously aware of all the aeroplanes currently
waiting to land or to take off - the peripheral conscious activity of the Pre-Conscious
Mind is like this. However, only one aeroplane may land or take off per runway at
any one time - the Conscious Mind.
1.1.1 The Secret to Powerful Concentration
Key applications of this organising system in the brain include making sure we don't
overload the capacity of the working memory. As soon as we have more than 7+/-2
units of information in our waiting system, our system crashes leading to confusion
and short-term memory loss. We say things like, "I couldn't hear myself think,"
meaning that there were so many distractions in our inner and outer environments
that our working memory was compromised. Conversely, we say, "I need space (or time)
to think about this." This means that we are going to take action to proactively
clear the clutter of distractions out of the way, allowing more of the processing
power of our conscious working memory to be applied to the focus of our thought.
Symptoms of overload include:
- Losing our car keys only to discover that they are right under our noses
- Coming all the way downstairs only to forget what we came downstairs for
- Losing the item that just this second we have put down
- Forgetting a telephone number we have only just been told
- Forgetting how to spell simple words
- And forgetting what we were saying.
So, what do we do when we get all the way downstairs and forget what we went there
for? Most of us retrace our steps. This, effectively, is shutting down distractions
in a mental audit trail, so that we may rediscover the focus of attention and intention.
Not surprisingly, computers, made in our own image, need to do the same thing when
loading new software applications (a form of learning). When installing new programmes,
we are asked to shut down and close all other programmes to avoid system conflicts.
The Mind Machine is just the same, it works best when we close other distractions
and apply all our system resources to one thing, in sight, in mind.
One of the most positive steps we can take to manage this process is to manage our
minds, our desktop, and our working practices to reflect the organising principle
of 7. Our own Lifetime Leadership System (Psystem 7) works on this principle to
organise and structure our time and objectives. Divide your responsibilities into
7 comprehensive and distinct 'zones'. Then chunk your activities into no more than
7 categories at any one level of detail. This will enable you to keep a sense of
overview, whilst having a structure that allows for control. I find it fascinating
that our week naturally falls into a cycle of seven days. If I violate the principle
of 7 and don't take a proper break at the week-end, I find that I get a sense of
disorientation, losing structure, control, and eventually overview. 7 is a Magic
Number in Mind Magic!
On a day to day basis, it makes sense for you to have a system to clear distractions
(good and bad) out of your conscious awareness. This is why writing a list is so
powerful. By writing down your 'any other business' of tasks and responsibilities
you need to cover later, you are effectively clearing working memory. Then by placing
this list or Mind Map® out of your visual field, you can place the task you need
to solely concentrate on right in front of you. We know that physiology and psychology
are absolutely and inextricably connected, so the physiological act of putting distractions
'behind' you, allows you to psychologically release them too.
1.1.2 The Structure of Working Memory
Short-term or working memory is made up of three distinct systems. The is the Inner
Coach, or the phonological loop as Bendall has called it in her
article. Responsible for your 'inner talk', the phonological loop is also vital
for learning new vocabulary. In terms of applying this to enhancing our mental performance,
it is important to realise that the Inner Coach can be effective or destructive.
You are the result of the patterns of thought you run on your mental computer. If
you use negative thinking, you'll soon experience a downturn in your confidence
and your competence. It is important that you work to develop a positive and affirming
coaching style for your Inner Coach of the phonological loop. This is one reason
why affirmations are important. They help your Inner Coach to articulate its insights
in positive resourceful ways.
Where memory is concerned, most people run a negative coaching programme: "you know,
my memory is getting terrible as I get older..." This is a crazy way to run your
brain. How much better and more accurate it is to affirm: "My memory recall is improving
the more I develop memory systems..." More on the 'how' to do this later.
The second system is the visuospatial sketchpad which is the 3D
Graphics programme that allows you to move and adjust images in your 'mind's eye'.
You can imagine the power of Mind Mapping to tap into this natural organising system
of the short-term memory. Visual/spatial Intelligence is clearly anchored in the
application of this first stage of memorisation and it also suggests why so many
of us are more effective when we learn visually.
Thirdly we have the working memory's PA - the central executive system.
Part of the key to decision-making and planning, the central executive system co-ordinates
with the visuospatial sketchpad and the phonological loop, and tracks all 7+/-2
units of information held in the Pre-Conscious awareness.
1.2 Multiple Memory Systems: Long-term Memory
Long-term memory is what interests most of us - since it is at the heart of academic
and business success - it also helps domestically, of course, to be able to remember
who is who! One of the great strengths of our brains 'plasticity' (its ability to
adapt and adjust to compensate for damage or new demands) is the fact that long-term
memory is divided into different functions and is located in different areas of
the brain. This means that loss of one part need not necessarily lead to the destruction
of the whole system. One way of making distinctions between forms of long-term memory
is to think about 'how to' memories - procedural memory, and 'factual
knowledge' memory - declarative memory. These two are dramatically
different. For example, procedural memory takes a great deal of repetition to firmly
establish - as in a new skill set of driving a car, touch typing, or playing an
instrument, however, once established it remains permanent and available. One may
have learned to play piano as a child, and not touched a keyboard for years. Then,
on trying again, become really delighted as the skills come flowing back as if it
were only yesterday. We will examine later how these skills become permanently established
in the brain, but for now I would like to remind us of the important Buzan assertion:
practice makes permanent. This is an important distinction. Practice does
not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect! Any procedural skill
practiced time and time again will become permanently established. This is why the
more you let go of your temper, the easier it becomes to lose your temper! Repetition
increases the likelihood of repetition. Eventually we can even end up with cultural
norms of behaviour which are permanent reminders of what we have practiced in our
culture. Americans tend to be perceived as outgoing and positive. The British tend
to be perceived as introspective and cautious. We also talk about have a Latin temperament.
All these things don't just happen! They are the result of modelling and practice.
This means that when we justify our behaviours by saying, "Hey, what do you expect,
I'm [English/Italian/a Scot/Welsh/Irish/whatever!]" we are missing the power of
choice and change... if we want more options in our lives. All behaviour in a healthy
body-mind system is adaptable - the choice is ours - practice makes permanent...
so if you want more options, try practicing something else - after awhile it will
become second nature.
1.2.1 Declarative Memory
Neuroscientists divide our 'factual knowledge' memory into semantic
and episodic. Semantic memory is our mental filing system for names,
things, concepts, vocabulary, people, places. It is at the heart of language acquisition
and articulation. Damage to the system can result in confusion of items stored in
each category, however, the general categories are often maintained. For example,
people suffering from semantic dementia may confuse a mouse with a dog in terms
of labelling the mouse, but would not confuse it with the label of an inanimate
object of a similar size, such as a mobile phone. This means that their broad categorical
distinctions remain intact (animate vs inanimate) but there is confusion at the
greater levels of detail.
In terms of applications, you may begin to recognise the power of strong associations
in strengthening the filing process. We all have a 'search engine' system in semantic
memory. Branding is a very powerful example of optimising this search engine. So,
I know that 'Beanz Meanz Heinz' and vice versa because this information has been
repetitively and consistently presented to my semantic memory throughout my life.
However, search engines also work by the diversity of links - the more links there
are to a site, the stronger the sites position in the listing of the search engine.
Heinz have strengthened their brand image by maintaining their core branding, yet
augmenting it with other links. This means that Heinz Meanz 57, and Ketchup, and
baby food, and soups etc etc. In terms of learning new knowledge (as distinct to
procedural skills), great value can be gained by researching widely. This strengthens
the links and puts the new knowledge within progressively easier reach of recall
(boosting its search engine ratings!)
Episodic memory is a little more fragile and complex. It has to do with the episodes
in our life history - most of which consists of one-off events. While semantic memory
can be reinforced through repetition, episodic memory is enhanced through review,
reflection, and rehearsal. We know now that episodic memory is strongly associated
initially with the hippocampus. However, with the process of mental rehearsal over
time, they are transferred to the outer cortical layers called the neocortex. Although
this may happen primarily through sleep and dreaming, it is clear that we can enhance
episodic memory through conscious mental rehearsal, review and reflection.
In Neuro-Linguistic Programming, these distinctions are often explored and articulated
as 'meta-programmes'. These are psychological sorting preferences that differ from
person to person. One person may 'sort' their experience for people and places and
episodes, whilst others will sort for more abstract or inorganic distinctions such
as similarity/dissimilarity, level of detail, or objects. Individuals' photographic
collections often offer a window into someone's meta-programmes. One person's collection
may emphasise family, friends and encounters with famous people, or special people
focused events. Another's collection may lack people entirely and focus on landscapes
and objects. These distinctions reflect the different weighting we give to categories
in our semantic memory and the relative importance we place on episodic memory.
It also explains a little of different people's orientation to time. Some are focused
on memories of past episodes, whereas others may be present or future orientated
and may be more fascinated with theory that episodes. For sound mental health, it
is in all our interests to develop all areas of declarative memory, since the more
diversity the brain has, the more robust its systems become - provided, of course,
that the experience is filtered to maintain the 7+/-2 organising principle. A little
variety at a time please!
1.2.2 Developing Your Memory
Fascinating research has been carried out by University College, London. One of
the most demanding memorisation tasks on the Planet is 'The Knowledge' required
to become a licensed taxi driver in London. Applicants must memorise and adapt their
routes to various destination around this capital city. Only those who have an accurate
level of recall become licensed. This is one of the highest demands ever put on
visual/spatial intelligence and memory - and it requires the ability to make internal
maps. Using non-invasive brain scanning techniques, it is possible to monitor what
happens in a taxi driver's brain when asked to articulate the route they would take
in London between two points. This has allowed us to see that is it a distinct region
of the hippocampus that 'lights up' with neural activity when mentally navigating.
The really exciting news is that the hippocampi of such drivers is larger in volume
than those of us who do not do this level of navigation. Conversely, hippocampal
damage results in an inability to navigate. Research into birds who either hide
their food, or, like Cuckoos, deposit their eggs in host nests, also confirms and
increase in the volume of certain regions of the hippocampus - some with seasonal
variations dependent upon the seasonal need to store or not to store food depending
on abundance.
So what? I make no secret of my enthusiasm for Tony Buzan's Mind Mapping. It is
a technique that harnesses the vast majority of the brain's cortical preferences
and applies and stimulates nearly every major intelligence distinction we make concerning
mental development. To be specific, it uses the preferences of numbers, words, details,
lists, and logic (associated with the Left Hemisphere), and those of pictures, imagination,
colour and spatial awareness (associated with the Right Hemisphere). It may therefore
be legitimately expressed as being a 'whole-brain' technique. Yet, more than this,
it is a technique that intelligently applies these preferences. For example, the
reflecting and editing process necessary for organising a Mind Map® applies both
intra-personal aspects of multiple-intelligence and linguistic intelligence. Mind
Mapping is intensely visual/spatial, activating this aspect of multiple-intelligence.
It can be inter-personally intelligent when shared or collaborative. It is definitely
a source of stimulation for mathematical/logical intelligence. The process is particularly
physically intelligent when performed free-hand. We can see then that the technique
is truly 'intelligent'. However, if the process of map making can also be demonstrated
to increase the volume of the hippocampus, we can also see that Mind Mapping is
a key way to enhance (in a measurable way) our mental capacity for more
effectiveness. A hippocampus that has been enhanced in this way can transfer its
skills to other applications - leading to ever greater flexibility, capacity, plasticity,
and adaptability. By building up our world of internal maps we help develop our
capability to navigate complexity is a world that is increasingly more complex.
2. How we learn at a cellular level
We now know that different types of memory are situated in different yet connected
locations. However, the basic building block of all nervous systems (and thus of
memorisation) is the neuron. How do neurons work?
The early experiments with squid neurons have demonstrated that the axon is like
an electrical cable. An axon (the long fibre like extension of a neuron) has a resting
potential when it is not actively sending messages. This means that there
is a difference in the electrical charge across its cell membrane. However, when
activated the membrane opens channels for positively charged sodium ions to rush
in to the cell - changing the electrical potential across the cell membrane - an
action potential - which spreads in a wave along the axon. At the synapse,
the gap at the end of the axon where it reaches out to connect with other cells,
neurotransmitters are released. These cross the tiny gap, binding themselves to
receptor molecules. Thus the signal can transfer to another neuron, or stimulate
a muscle, or trigger the release of a hormone.
Although we know different types of memory are located in different regions, the
neurons are very similar in structure. This suggests that the secret of memory is
not in the neurons but in the way they connect with other neurons to form patterns
and connections of varying strength.
Research into the learning mechanisms of Aplysia (the Sea Slug mentioned above)
allows us to make a distinction between habituation and sensitisation.
Habituation is the process through which we learn to filter out stimuli. Not all
information is useful, so we train our nervous systems to pay selective attention.
This is why you tune out to the ticking of a clock or the hum of the air conditioner...
until the clock or the air conditioner breaks down thereby becoming significant.
This is also how you adapt to life in the city or the country. There is an incredible
amount of noise pollution in cities, yet within three weeks of moving to a city,
you'll tune out to it (or become 'habituated') and sleep soundly. Conversely, a
trip to the country may result in a sleepless night because it is 'too quiet'!
Sensitisation is when a neuron learns to attach significance to a previously neutral
stimulus. This is how we develop the complex equivalence of associations - Beanz
Meanz Heinz. The classic example is Ivan Pavlov's experiments with conditioned reflexes.
If a bell is rung close enough to the experience of being fed, his dogs would learn
to associate the sound of the bell with the experience. Once the association is
firmly established, the sound of the bell is sufficient to trigger the salivation
response. The key is the proximity of the formerly unrelated stimulus (the bell's
ringing) to the desirable or meaningful experience (getting fed). Ring the bell
too soon or too late, and no association is made. Here is the key concept for us
to apply: cells that fire together, wire together. Here's how we think it works.
The senses of sight and smell are strongly stimulated by the sight and smell of
the food experience. This triggers waves of neural response in the dog's cortex
resulting in the appropriate salivatory response. Since in a very real sense everything
is connected to everything else in the cortex, there is a low level of stimulus
of the neurons in the auditory pathways - with weak connections. However, once there
is a stronger auditory response through the clear ringing of the bell at a closely
proximate time to the sight, smell, taste experience of the food/feeding, the brain
has to make a link because of the way all neurons have the capacity to connect.
Two pathways become associated. This is why 'cells that fire together, wire together'
is such an important concept. If the association is made strongly or frequently
enough a marvellous change takes place. At the initial sensitisation stage, more
seratonin (a neurotransmitter) is released at the relevant synapses, binding to
the receptors in the connected neurons. This strengthens the relationship between
the synapses. However, after prolonged stimulation, there is a shift in protein
production leading to the construction of new synapses dedicated to this neuronal
pathway. This is how we think long-term memory develops. And this growth of new
synapses happens throughout life meaning that we can learn new knowledge and skills
at any age or stage of development.
2.1 Long-term potentiation
The more you stimulate a neuron pathway, the easier it becomes to activate that
pathway... and for other neurons further along the path to fire. This is long-term
potentiation and it is specific to the neuron pathway. This means that the potential
for coding information along selective pathways is phenomenal - leading to our vast
mental capacity. Long-term potentiation can last for hours, days, even weeks - developing
in phases with further stimulation. This is profoundly important for scheduling
review of learning. By making sure we review new learning within an hour, a day,
a week, a month, and at the three month stage, we are maximising the biological
advantage of long-term potentiation. If we do not review, we lose the potentiation
- even to the point where it appears we have to learn the information from scratch.
In education this makes review an imperative, an absolutely vital part of the learning
process. It is not enough to present information in an easily understandable and
compelling way. Rather, significance is understood neurologically through long-term
potentiation. Repeated review leads to a decreasing of resistance to the flow of
that information. Buzan says, "Repetition decreases resistance," and "Repetition
increases the likelihood of further repetition." Bluntly put, the smarter we become
through building up our wide range of knowledge, skills, and attitudes, the easier
it becomes to become smarter too - we build up a kind of mental momentum that empowers
transformational mental improvement.
Exactly the same is true of promoting behavioural development in an organisation.
Without review the nervous system concludes at a molecular level that the stimulus
(eg feedback during your appraisal) was not significant in the long-term. Following-through
is the only way to keep the stimulus in sight, in mind (rather than the neurologically
accurate cliche, "out of sight, out of mind.") It is an organisational imperative
to review, reflect, remind and follow-through.
There is more good news. Neurons have multiple synapses. If a neuron is strongly
stimulated at one set of synapses on the cell, leading to long-term potentiation
at these specific synapses, the whole cell may become more open to long-term
potentiation at another set of synapses in the same cell. This means that another
stimulus from another neurological pathway that would normally be too weak to lead
to long-term potentiation can actually provoke it. In this way, the stimulus becomes
associated. The cell at an individual level is bridging the two pathways, making
a link, a junction - wiring the two stimuli together. Habituation and sensitisation
are general principles. In habituation, you are learning to tune out to a repeated
stimulus. In sensitisation you are learning to become more aware of a general set
of stimuli. So if you watch a horror movie, and then someone catches you by surprise
- you'll jump. However, the principle of associativity is far more specific, linking
only the stimuli which are coming into the same neuron.
2.1.1 Long-term potentiation and building associative responses
In Neuro-Linguistic Programming there is a technique called anchoring. In it we
deliberately make an association between a chosen set of controllable sensory stimuli
and a desired state of being. For example, we may choose to build an association
between being in a state of relaxed body yet focused mind, and a simple image, sound
byte, and physical action that we can trigger whenever we want. In my own experience
I have linked this state of 'psychoconcentrative relaxation' (from the work of Georgi
Lozanov) to the image of a waterfall in my mind's eye, the sound of the water and
the sound of the softly spoken word, 'relax', and the simple gesture of squeezing
together the ring finger and thumb of both hands. In the past the waterfall, 'relax'
and the gesture did not mean: "Go into a state of relaxed concentration." Instead,
I have deliberately constructed this relaxation response. Why? Because this is the
state of mind and body that is most conducive to learning at an accelerated rate
of absorption and assimilation. How? By seeing my image, hearing my sounds, and
doing my gesture anytime I feel 'relaxed yet aware'. For example, I enjoy thinking
by the sea. I walk down to the shoreline and sit on the rocks. Waves of psychological
wellbeing flow over me just as the literal waves flow over the shoreline. My body
is relaxed, yet my mind is free to be very aware and active. In this state of mind,
I attach my triggers or anchors. I superimpose the image of the waterfall in my
mind's eye, hear my sounds, do my gesture - and hold the experience in sight, in
mind. However, I get the same feeling when relaxing in the bath or reading a book
in bed on a saturday morning when I am wide awake. On both these occasions, I also
link my triggers or anchors to this state. This allows my mind and body to make
a strong yet varied association between this mental/physical state and the simple
sensory reminders of the waterfall, 'relax', and the gesture. Once long-term potentiation
has done its work, my nervous system will have changed from short-term increases
of seratonin, to the long-term construction of new protein based synapses, welding
the stimuli together. This means that there soon comes a time where the abstract
reminders (the image of the waterfall etc) mean and therefore stimulate
exactly the same psycho-physical response. So, I can go into a meeting where the
team are under pressure and are ill-prepared. Stress levels are high. Pre-Conscious
Minds are in danger of overloading. Rather than say, "excuse me, I need to get down
to the coast to get my head straight," I can simply draw on that associative response
by triggering my reminders, anchored to the state of mind. I can thus become relaxed
yet aware when those around me are losing their heads.
Compared with the short time and little effort it takes to build this kind of response,
the rewards are really worth it. It time you can build your own set of triggers
to anchor any state of mind you'd like to trigger in yourself at any time: confidence,
relaxation, joy, energy, peace, love, patience... the ultimate mechanism of self-control.
The result? You become free of the tyranny of responding in a knee-jerk style to
stimuli around you and set, instead, your own agenda for how you want to feel and
act. No-one will be able to burst your bubble! Only you can burst it!
3 Visual Memory
Finally, let us consider the reliability of visual memory. Whilst we know that some
people have a preference for taking in information through sound, and others through
action and tactile stimulation, the majority of us are predisposed to visual presentation
of data. It is important for us to pause and reflect on how powerful visual memory
is. The Canadian Psychologist, Lionel Standing, in 1973 conducted some definitive
experiments demonstrating the undisputed power of visual recall. He exposed volunteers
to a series of objects captured on photographs and then tested for awareness of
familiarity three days later. The initial exposure was only for 5 seconds. When
tested, volunteers were shown combinations of photos - one previously seen and one
new. They had to state which one was familiar. Whilst this may not sound like much
of a challenge, the results were still dramatically accurate when Standing increased
the quantity of photographs to 10,000. As a result we can assert that the average
recall of visual images is around 96%. This clearly has dramatic implications for
business, marketing, learning, and presenting information.
Visual memory can be hugely accentuated through the deliberate use of colour. Tony
Buzan says in 'Use Your Memory' that colour can improve memory recall by 50%. This
is one of the reasons that colour-coding is so powerful in both learning and business.
The maths is astounding. Using visuals can lead to a 96% level of recall. Using
colour systematically and deliberately can improve recall by 50%. These are allies
we clearly must collaborate with to enhance our mental performance.
I would encourage you to begin by assigning multiple meaning to red, orange, yellow,
green, blue, indigo and violet. It is important in all our mental development to
maintain distinctiveness and consistency. This will help enhance your memory recall,
the speed of learning, and the effective application of your multiple-intelligence.
4 Conclusion
Mind Mapping, Review, and building deliberate associations between simple stimuli
and states of mind-body (anchoring) are three very powerful ways to work Mind Magic.
You are a magician. Your nervous system has all the resources it needs to work the
magic. The rest is up to you and me. We can choose to continue to develop our intelligence
and memory capacity right into our twilight years. We can choose to build a bigger
hippocampus through developing our mapping, navigation and visualisation skills.
We can choose to switch our moods at will... the key is to begin to take action
- your nervous system will do the rest!
Note: Copyright permission granted by
Learnfast World Limited
Writer's note: This text is adapted and
augmented from Kate Bendall's excellent article in New Scientist 17th May 2003.
Whilst the key neurological insights are based on Kate's work, the applications
are the result of my own reflection and from the positive influence of the insights
of Tony Buzan and Neuro-Linguistic Programming. The association of the ideas here
does not imply endorsement by any party of the other sources.