The concept of having and losing memories can be very confusing when looked at in depth. Pam Belluck in the New York Times, writes about a new study suggesting that memories weaken when not reinforced. Originally there has been two theories on memory retention. The two major theories are interesting and the difference between them is very important. The first theory described is where memories do not completely go away but are overshadowed by new memories. The other is where old memories are degraded as new information is pulled to the mind so that there is no interference. These theories are significant due to the difference being whether memories can be pulled back or not. If old memories are simply overshadowed, there is a possibility of them being recovered.
There was a study performed in Birmingham and Cambridge, England that tested memory association. The study associated pictures with words and then tested individuals on their ability to recall the correct association. The results of the association study showed that most likely competing memories become weaker. After that researchers looked at the neural patterns during the test. When certain associations were stated, the other word pairing was slowly degraded. The brains physically produced fewer traces of the word that was not being reinforced. Scientists that were not a part of the study stated they believed the results to confirm the degradation of memories. If certain memories are not reinforced, they will eventually weaken and possibly degrade to make room for a competing memory.
These findings are vital in numerous ways. It can provide helpful insight into patients with memory loss and even other mental illnesses. If memories are not truly overtly degraded, then perhaps certain markers can bring them back out. Although, the lack of degradation can be problematic in those that actively seek to forget certain traumatizing memories. The findings that memories can be weakened and degraded through competing memories is good for certain patients such as ones with PTSD.
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/17/science/memories-become-weaker-without-reinforcement-study-finds.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=search&contentPlacement=14&pgtype=sectionfront
Since one of the theories stated that memories degrade in order to make room for competing memories, does this mean that there is only a certain amount of space for memories? In other words, can our brains only hold a certain capacity? This leads to the question does everyone have the same capacity for memories? Or is it possible for this capacity to increase/decrease in some way?
ReplyDeleteThe point about mental illness is also very interesting. Would these researchers say that patients with Alzheimer's, for example, simply lose some of their capacity to hold new memories?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting study. Are these results applicable to short term/working memory? or to long term memory as well?
ReplyDeleteIt is also interesting that you mentioned PTSD because one of the most prevalent symptoms is the reoccurrence of memories associated with the traumatic event. This study may explain why people who experience PTSD seem to have stronger memories of that event than other memories.
One major part of memory is storage. This is essentially where information becomes permanent in the brain. However, this article poses many questions. When it comes to declarative memory, it usually focuses on knowledge we have about the world but that doesn't necessarily mean everything in our declarative memory is knowledge we use everyday. I guess my question is could new information degrade something as powerful as declarative memory? It is reasonable to think that knowledge that is not really relevant to us can eventually degrade due to competing information. For some reason this reminds me of Miriam Diamond's saying, "Use it or lose it." She focused on brain plasticity and how we are really in control to shape our brain the way we want to. If we use certain parts of our brain, it will be strong and grow. However, if we don't use certain parts of our brain, it won't be as strong and we lose "mastery" in that area.
ReplyDeleteI believe memory is a very complex subject. I think figuring out how exactly we create memories, lose them, and keep them in storage is really interesting and also helpful for further treatments for those that unfortunately suffer from any traumatic event including disorders such as PTSD, as mentioned. This research should keep on being studied as many questions are still unanswered and hopefully find more ways to help those with memory deficit issues such as people with Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
ReplyDelete