Title: The link between memory and stress | CNN
Headings: Chronic stress can hurt your memory
Chronic stress can hurt your memory
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(CNN) —

Content: Research suggests low levels of anxiety can affect your ability to recall memories; acute or high-anxiety situations, on the other hand, can actually reinforce the learning process. Trust your memory? Maybe you shouldn’t
Acute stress increases your brain’s ability to encode and recall traumatic events, according to studies. These memories get stored in the part of the brain responsible for survival, and serve as a warning and defense mechanism against future trauma. Related Video How addiction changes your brain
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If the stress you’re experiencing is ongoing, however, there can be devastating effects. Neuroscientists from the University of California, Berkeley, found that chronic stress can create long-term changes in the brain. Stress increases the development of white matter, which helps send messages across the brain, but decreases the number of neurons that assist with information processing. The neuroscientists say the resulting imbalance can affect your brain’s ability to communicate with itself, and make you more vulnerable to developing a mental illness.