# Selective amnesia: How rats and humans are able to forget distracting memories

**URL:** <https://archive.menshealtharchive.com/t/selective-amnesia-how-rats-and-humans-are-able-to-forget-distracting-memories/994>\
**Category:** Research Database\
**Created:** [November 7, 2018, 3:24pm UTC](https://archive.menshealtharchive.com/t/selective-amnesia-how-rats-and-humans-are-able-to-forget-distracting-memories/994 "2018-11-07T15:24:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![menshealtharchive](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex035/user_avatar/archive.menshealtharchive.com/menshealtharchive/32/587_2.png) [@menshealtharchive](https://archive.menshealtharchive.com/u/menshealtharchive)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 3:24pm UTC](https://archive.menshealtharchive.com/t/selective-amnesia-how-rats-and-humans-are-able-to-forget-distracting-memories/994/1 "2018-11-07T15:24:03Z")

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> **[Selective amnesia: How rats and humans are able to forget distracting memories](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181107082506.htm)**
>
> Our ability to selectively forget distracting memories is shared with other mammals, suggests new research. The discovery that rats and humans share a common active forgetting ability -- and in similar brain regions -- suggests that the capacity to...

  
Our ability to selectively forget distracting memories is shared with other mammals, suggests new research. The discovery that rats and humans share a common active forgetting ability – and in similar brain regions – suggests that the capacity to forget plays a vital role in adapting mammalian species to their environments, and that its evolution may date back at least to the time of our common ancestor.