The method of loci in the context of psychological research: A systematic review and meta‐analysis.
This systematic review and meta‐analysis aimed to evaluate (1) the effectiveness of the method of loci (MoL) in enhancing recall in adults, (2) its underlying cognitive mechanisms, and (3) its neurobiological correlates. Studies on adult populations were included from multiple databases. Risk of bia...
| Published in: | British Journal of Psychology Vol. 116; no. 4; pp. 930 - 987 |
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| Format: | Article |
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Wiley-Blackwell
Nov2025
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=188606578&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 188606578 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00071269 BJP jtl: British Journal of Psychology issn: 00071269 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Nov2025 vid: 116 iid: 4 pid: 480 pub: Wiley-Blackwell artinfo: ui: 188606578 10.1111/bjop.12799 ppf: 930 ppct: 57 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: C – @attributes: type: P size: 1.9MB tig: atl: The method of loci in the context of psychological research: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. aug: au: Ondřej, Jan affil: Department of Psychology, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic su: Psychiatry Age distribution Memory Brain physiology Cognitive testing Research funding Functional connectivity Meta-analysis Descriptive statistics Systematic reviews MEDLINE Neuropsychology Confidence intervals Neuroradiology Psychology information storage & retrieval systems sug: subj: Psychiatry Age distribution Memory Brain physiology Cognitive testing Research funding Functional connectivity Meta-analysis Descriptive statistics Systematic reviews MEDLINE Neuropsychology Confidence intervals Neuroradiology Psychology information storage & retrieval systems keyword: loci method memory palaces memory techniques meta‐analysis method of loci mnemonics systematic review loci method memory palaces memory techniques meta‐analysis method of loci mnemonics systematic review ab: This systematic review and meta‐analysis aimed to evaluate (1) the effectiveness of the method of loci (MoL) in enhancing recall in adults, (2) its underlying cognitive mechanisms, and (3) its neurobiological correlates. Studies on adult populations were included from multiple databases. Risk of bias was assessed, and the GRADE approach and RoBMAPSMA were used for qualitative and quantitative synthesis. The MoL showed strong evidence for a large effect on immediate serial recall compared with rehearsal (d = 0.88, 95% CI [0.47, 1.25], P(M|data) = 0.994, BF = 161.94) in adult populations. Its general effectiveness is supported by multiple cognitive mechanisms, all of which align with the levels of processing framework. Neuroimaging studies have shown consistent activation of brain regions primarily associated with spatial memory and navigation – namely, the hippocampus, parahippocampus, and retrosplenial cortex. MoL training also induces structural and functional brain changes. However, the evidence is rated as low to very low quality, mainly due to the high risk of bias and other limitations. The MoL is a powerful mnemonic for enhancing recall in adults, grounded in robust cognitive and neural mechanisms, though more rigorous studies are needed. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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