Memory, The Essence Of Who We Are
The ability to recall memories is an automatic function for most people, so the mechanics of memory formation is not given much thought or attention until something goes wrong, and memory begins to falter.
As noted in the video, our memory holds a record of our entire life and shapes our identity. As memories fade, it can easily feel as if we are losing the very essence of who we are.
The video reviews the fascinating topic of how the memory works, and the ramifications of memory loss.
How Our Memory Works
At birth, the human brain begins to shape itself based on the interactions the environment. By branching and making new connections, the neurons in the brain actually record experiences.
The “recordings” stored in these neural connections are called memories, and the ability to form memories and recall past events does not occur immediately upon birth.
According to Professor Martin Conway, an expert on childhood amnesia, this is why most people do not have memories going further back than the age of about 5, or in some cases.
Professor Conway been looking for the Key event or change that occurs that finally allows children to recall the past.
Pediatric tests designed to assess self-recognition, a child’s ability to understand that they are a separate individual from other people, along with tests designed to assess memory, reveals a fascinating insight.
Self-recognition is an essential ingredient for forming autobiographical memories. This type of memory is different from rote memory, or the memorization of facts and data.
Living Without Memories
The film features John Forbes, now 30 years old, John was born prematurely, and his memory circuit was never fully developed.
As a result, he has trouble with even the most basic tasks involving memory, such as navigating to a destination, even when he’s been there hundreds of times, remembering the names of people he knows, or following instructions given just moments earlier.
What’s more, each action you take on any given day is actually dependent on your remembering to take it — whether it’s to brush your teeth each morning, or that you have an appointment that day — and this is something John cannot do.
He has to rely on written lists for everything. He also cannot recall anything that happened in his past.
The damage in John’s brain is centralized around the primary memory circuit, the hippocampus. When your hippocampus works well, each moment of your life is registered.
When it is damaged, one will struggle to remember facts and events, and in severe cases like John’s, even the most basic memory functions will suffer.
Research using brain imaging has revealed remarkable similarities in the patterns of brain activity when you’re remembering a past event and imagining a future one.
In fact, the exact same areas are activated during these 2 mental tasks, and researchers believe the reason for this is that you use memories to piece together an imagined picture of the future.
What this means is that as you develop the ability to remember the past, from around the age of 5 onward, we also develop our ability to reflect and imagine the future.
For most people, this ability to “time travel” in your mind is honed by age 9.
John, on the other hand, cannot mentally project himself into the future, so he’s trapped in an eternal present, with neither future nor past. As noted in the film, at first glance, this might seem like a rather pleasant condition.
He does not worry as much because he cannot remember that there are things to worry about. But, he is stumped when asked what he wants for his own future. In essence, John’s lack of memory of the past has robbed him of the ability to imagine himself in a future scenario.
The ability to travel through time in our mind, backward and forward, lies at the heart of our most sophisticated mental abilities that define us as humans. One of the reasons why we care about tomorrow is because we remember yesterday, and this allows us to make plans to create a better future.
It also gives you the power of abstract thought, creativity, and problem solving.
If we had no memory, no plans would ever be made, and we would all mull through each day at random. We would have no industries or modern technologies, projects that require a great deal of planning, organizing, and follow-through.
In short, memory is essential for the survival of our species. It is also thought that language and advanced problem solving skills are a direct outgrowth of the human memory function.
Here is a link to an Op-Ed piece in the NY-T’s that I read today that explains how to increase and enhance our mental/memory functions: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/25/opinion/sunday/can-you-get-smarter.html?_r=1
It is Key to make healthy life choices to maintain a wholly healthy body and brain. So, eat real food, exercise regularly, spend time in the Sun, and get good sleep.
Your brain does not need carbs and sugars; healthy fats such as saturated animal fats and animal-based omega-3 are critical for optimal brain function.
Eat healthy, Be healthy, Live lively.
HeffX-LTN
Paul Ebeling
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