Forgetting Memories
Over the past year, I’ve used this blog to muse on the myriad ways in which our memories can be an unreliable clue to our past. Implicit in those musings was a belief that most of us (especially those of us who are writers) wish to keep our memories intact.
There are, however, those—victims of trauma from abuse, accidents or the horrors of war—who wish to forget their memories and the emotional pain associated with them. In recent years, scientists have sought ways to treat those whose painful memories obstruct their daily lives. One approach seeks to preserve the actual memory but separate it from the negative emotions associated with it. Possible treatments include drug interventions as well as “extinction therapy,” one type of behavior modification.
A fascinating survey of this research appears in a recent New Yorker article, “Partial Recall.” It’s worth reading just for the education you’ll get in the neuroscience of memory.
every memory “depends on a chain of chemical interactions that connects millions of neurons to one another … they communicate through tiny gaps, or synapses, that surround each of them …”
synapses are affected by proteins, some of which strengthen memory while others weaken or interfere with it. One track of scientific research seeks to identify and harness the genes that produce these proteins.
Short-term memories are formed from neurochemicals, while long-term memories are transferred over time to different parts of the brain, depending on the nature of the memory.
Procedural memory (baking cookies) is spread throughout the brain
Emotional memory (love, hate, anger) resides in the amygdala, a tiny bunch of neurons located behind the eyes.
Conscious memory (a lunch date) as well as contextual information (the artwork on the wall of the restaurant where you had lunch) is found in the hippocampus.
Recalling memories requires information to re-trace the original pathways. Depending on the circumstances, the memory may be changed by the very process of trying to recall it.
As I digested this last point, I realized I had come full circle—to the unreliability of memory. Understanding the scientific basis for lost or altered memories offers the potential to help trauma victims. But it does nothing to get my lost memories back, or provide clues for how to stop losing memories in the future.
Do you have memories you want to forget … or memories you’d like to retrieve?
This week, I’ve taken a brief break from discussion of issues relevant to my novel, A Fitting Place. If you’d like to do a guest blog on one of the topics, please contact me here to obtain a copy of the guidelines.
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