Summary: 
IMAGINEyournextvacation.Youare
relaxingonabeach,waveslappingat
theshore,acoolbreezewafting
throughthetreesandthesuncaressingyour
skin.Fillinthedetails.Whatelsedoyousee?
Now,rememberyesterday'scommute.Again,
apictureemerges.Youareonthetrainorin
yourcar,ormaybejustwanderingfromyour
kitchentoyourdesk.Canyourememberwhat
youwerewearing?Perhapsyouhaveforgotten
thatpartalready.
Without breaking sweat, you can hurtle
yourself backwards or forwards in time in
your mind's eye ­ what is known as"mental
time travel". One of these visions really
happened and the other was fantasy, yet the
act of conjuring them up probably felt very
36 | NewScientist | 24 March 2007 www.newscientist.com
Cover story |

Source: Addis, Donna Rose - Department of Psychology, University of Auckland

Collections: Biology and Medicine