Scientists have traditionally believed that when we thought about the future all of the work was being done in the prefrontal cortex. But it looks like that may be wrong.

Led by Kathleen McDermott, researchers at Washington University (St. Louis), performed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) tests on the brains of subjects as they recalled times from their past, and then as they imagined the future. The team found that the same areas of the brain were active in both memory and in imagination. It turns out that when we are imagining something that hasn't yet happened, we're kind of remembering the future, or imagining the past. For more watch the video.