According to led investigator Michael Kahana, a professor of psychology in Penns School of Arts and Sciences, retrieval of true memories induced a distinct pattern of gamma oscillations in the brain as compared to retrieval of false memories.

He said that gamma waves actually predicted whether or not an item that was about to be recalled was previously studied. In other words, one could see a difference in brain activity just prior to remembering something that had and had not actually happened.

The researchers say that the new findings may provide a clearer picture of how to assist people suffering from epilepsy. They say that identifying the neural signatures of successful memory storage and retrieval can help neurosurgeons reduce the cognitive deficits that might result from epilepsy surgery.

National Geographic has a fascinating cover story on memory and why brains sometimes remember things and often forget. It starts off with a woman who remembers almost every minute of every day of her life since the age of 11, as well as a man whose brain, riddled by disease, knows nothing but the present.