Do You Remember?
- erudite .
- Apr 28, 2022
- 3 min read
By Anoushka Ghosh
Time and time again, we have to remember important pieces of information - may it be the date of an important meeting or a script. Say one were to ask you what you ate for breakfast yesterday, you'd likely not remember it. Yet, you can recall the date of that important test or meeting. Therefore, to understand memories, we must understand their purpose.
Memories are essential as one can remember mistakes and recollect the way we handle these same mistakes. It is biologically important as it allows us to make a prompt response to a stimulus such as an approaching danger - do we run or do we fight? With the use of memory, we can tell whether or not a similar experience can help mould the way we react to different situations. However, it is baffling to realise that the memory we depend on so much is quite flawed.
In the 1940s, scientists surmised that memories are held within a group of neurons called cell assemblies. As we are put in a situation, these cell assemblies fire as a group to create a quick response. For instance, you can tell a familiar smell or a familiar face due to these neurons. With the increased activity of the neuron assemblies, the cell’s interconnections strengthen. Hence, our short-term memories are strengthened over time to become long-term memories; this usually occurs through consolidation. Our neurons are constantly talking amongst themselves, and it soon grows and modifies themselves to talk to the neighbouring nerves differently. This can remodel and alter the nerves’ connections to stabilise the memory and store it for the long term.
Yet, even memories are entirely faulty and over time the long-term memories alter themselves. Short-term and long-term memories deteriorate over time. For instance, psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus tested his memory using three-letter nonsense syllables without using actual words that depend on his knowledge and associations to memory. The studies show that the information was lost very quickly after it was learned, but not all was forgotten. There was a limit to how much was forgotten.
Our tendency to forget revolves around the idea of decay and interference theory. Decay suggests that our memory slowly fades over time until it is no longer accessible, like the ocean wave slowly making a message in the sand less legible until it eventually disappears. Furthermore, the interference theory suggests that “memories are made less accessible because of interference from similar information acquired before or after their formation,” according to Talya Sadeh, a research scientist at Rotman Research Institute. We can find the root of the cause in the hippocampus as all recollection is supported by the hippocampus, which is prone to interference and decay over time.
Interestingly, we can even absolutely rewrite our old memories and create a new story that seems right to us. For instance, the legal system depends on eyewitness testimony which may be damning evidence, but it is susceptible to error and bias. Although it may be the most persuasive form of evidence, its accuracy is dubious and unreliable most of all. This may be occurring due to both imagination and memory being two sides of the same coin. Essentially, imagination depends mostly on memory. Brain imaging research shows that imagining a threat lights up similar regions as experiencing it. It could lead to your memories being altered by your imagination. So, the next time you’re sure of your memory, take a step back and rethink it.
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