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Memory
Memory
POSTED OCT 17, 2019
Researchers tell us that adults can retain memories from about age 3 or 4, and that a small percentage of preteens can remember unique events from when they were 2. Toddlers remember events from a few weeks back but not after several months. The reason for this childhood amnesia is related to the development of the hippocampus, which is required for long-term memory storage. Paul Frankland, a senior scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, hypothesized that the memories themselves actually ended up in the long-term “memory storage room” — it’s just that the hippocampus lost track of where these were put.
Researchers tell us that adults can retain memories from about age 3 or 4, and that a small percentage of preteens can remember unique events from when they were 2. Toddlers remember events from a few weeks back but not after several months. The reason for this childhood amnesia is related to the development of the hippocampus, which is required for long-term memory storage. Paul Frankland, a senior scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, hypothesized that the memories themselves actually ended up in the long-term “memory storage room” — it’s just that the hippocampus lost track of where these were put.
Imagine a tiny room that rapidly grows into a whole warehouse, but you only have a limited amount of resources to keep track of and successfully store and tag goods for later retrieval — you’ll get a lot of boxes tucked away with no idea what’s inside them, and most likely you’ll leave them like that. This is what happens to the hippocampus as it matures and huge numbers of new neurons come online and need to be hooked into existing circuits. As growth slows down, the brain is better at keeping pace and can do a better job of tracking where memories get stored, which is why long-term memories become better as youngsters get older.
What happens to these childhood and infant memories? This long-term "memory storage room" sounds much like the unconscious mind postulated by Freud - which "defines all past events and memories, inaccessible to us no matter how hard we try to remember to bring things up." The good news for good parents is that these memories of loving attention and joyful times are still there somewhere.
What happens to these childhood and infant memories? This long-term "memory storage room" sounds much like the unconscious mind postulated by Freud - which "defines all past events and memories, inaccessible to us no matter how hard we try to remember to bring things up." The good news for good parents is that these memories of loving attention and joyful times are still there somewhere.
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One of the crueler diseases of old age is Alzheimer's, a progressive disease of the brain that slowly causes impairment in memory and cognitive function. [1] In its later stages, Alzheimer patients experience "confusion or unawareness of environment and surroundings, inability to recognize faces except for the closest friends and relatives, and inability to remember most details of personal history." (alzheimers.net)
One of the crueler diseases of old age is Alzheimer's, a progressive disease of the brain that slowly causes impairment in memory and cognitive function. [1] In its later stages, Alzheimer patients experience "confusion or unawareness of environment and surroundings, inability to recognize faces except for the closest friends and relatives, and inability to remember most details of personal history." (alzheimers.net)
Memory is closely connected with the concept of a continuous self. Memory helps make individuals who they are. Without the help of memories, someone would struggle to learn new information, form lasting relationships, or function in daily life. That's why when memory fails – as in Alzheimer patients – it is so devastating. The person no longer has access to some of what makes him him or her her.
Memory is closely connected with the concept of a continuous self. Memory helps make individuals who they are. Without the help of memories, someone would struggle to learn new information, form lasting relationships, or function in daily life. That's why when memory fails – as in Alzheimer patients – it is so devastating. The person no longer has access to some of what makes him him or her her.
What happens to one's sense of self when those memories are gone, when personal history is gone, when one cannot remember who the person standing by the bedside is?
What happens to one's sense of self when those memories are gone, when personal history is gone, when one cannot remember who the person standing by the bedside is?
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Memory is fallible, even in a healthy brain. Eyewitness testimony has long been known to be one of the least reliable forms of evidence. [2] More recently, neuroscientists have shown that each time we remember something, we are reconstructing the event, reassembling it from traces throughout the brain. [3] What this means is that each time we remember something, we are remembering it from the last time we did, introducing more changes in the process. Think of the old "telephone" game where a story is repeated many times. By the time it reaches the last person, it bears less resemblance to the story as first told.
Memory is fallible, even in a healthy brain. Eyewitness testimony has long been known to be one of the least reliable forms of evidence. [2] More recently, neuroscientists have shown that each time we remember something, we are reconstructing the event, reassembling it from traces throughout the brain. [3] What this means is that each time we remember something, we are remembering it from the last time we did, introducing more changes in the process. Think of the old "telephone" game where a story is repeated many times. By the time it reaches the last person, it bears less resemblance to the story as first told.
That this is so should not be surprising. One of the greatest values of memory is that it helps us make decisions in the present. Many things have changed and much knowledge has been gained since the remembered event happened. The malleability of memory helps us adapt it to the situation before us.
That this is so should not be surprising. One of the greatest values of memory is that it helps us make decisions in the present. Many things have changed and much knowledge has been gained since the remembered event happened. The malleability of memory helps us adapt it to the situation before us.
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The capability to form memory is critical to the strategic adaptation of an organism to changing environmental demands. More than a century of research has established the fact that sleep benefits the retention of memory. Newer findings characterize sleep as a brain state optimizing memory consolidation, with the waking brain being optimized for encoding of memories. [4] Recent work focuses on the role of "slow-wave sleep" (SWS) sleep in this consolidation process. SWS is the deepest phase of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, and is characterized by delta waves.
The capability to form memory is critical to the strategic adaptation of an organism to changing environmental demands. More than a century of research has established the fact that sleep benefits the retention of memory. Newer findings characterize sleep as a brain state optimizing memory consolidation, with the waking brain being optimized for encoding of memories. [4] Recent work focuses on the role of "slow-wave sleep" (SWS) sleep in this consolidation process. SWS is the deepest phase of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, and is characterized by delta waves.
Loss of sleep, particularly delta-wave-producing deep sleep, can adversely affect memory. Delta waves have received "New Age" attention, and they can be reproduced with certain sounds and music. Listening to delta-wave producing sounds may be able to help sleep-deprived individuals regain the lost benefits. According to one researcher, it takes a month or two of daily, day time listening to see a noticeable effect.
Loss of sleep, particularly delta-wave-producing deep sleep, can adversely affect memory. Delta waves have received "New Age" attention, and they can be reproduced with certain sounds and music. Listening to delta-wave producing sounds may be able to help sleep-deprived individuals regain the lost benefits. According to one researcher, it takes a month or two of daily, day time listening to see a noticeable effect.
Note: Meditation produces theta waves, not delta waves. [5]
Note: Meditation produces theta waves, not delta waves. [5]
Lopus Opus: Delta Waves & Oceanic Sounds for Deep Relaxation & Sleep
Lopus Opus: Delta Waves & Oceanic Sounds for Deep Relaxation & Sleep
Best for day time use: "Listening to delta wave music while sleeping is useless...You can listen to it before sleep, to relax and fall to sleep more easily." -Katarzyna Bosak (Quora)
Science Daily article on effects of meditation
Science Daily article on effects of meditation
Scientific American article on brainwaves
Scientific American article on brainwaves
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AARP's council on brain health occasionally issues reports reviewing various claims for brain health benefits - like the report from a couple of years ago that "found a lack of support for claims that wine, dark chocolate and coffee can improve brain function" and a more recent report that found "little justification for for the billions of dollars people spend on supplements claiming to boost brain function." Instead the council recommends focusing on the "five pillars" of brain health: move (exercise), relax (sleep enough and avoid stress), nourish (eat well), discover (think) and connect (socialize). AARP members have access to a program called Staying Sharp, that provides evidence-based information and actions you can take to maintain and improve your brain health as you age.
AARP's council on brain health occasionally issues reports reviewing various claims for brain health benefits - like the report from a couple of years ago that "found a lack of support for claims that wine, dark chocolate and coffee can improve brain function" and a more recent report that found "little justification for for the billions of dollars people spend on supplements claiming to boost brain function." Instead the council recommends focusing on the "five pillars" of brain health: move (exercise), relax (sleep enough and avoid stress), nourish (eat well), discover (think) and connect (socialize). AARP members have access to a program called Staying Sharp, that provides evidence-based information and actions you can take to maintain and improve your brain health as you age.
The sidebar has links to some of the topics discussed in this post.
The sidebar has links to some of the topics discussed in this post.
[1] Dementia is a group of symptoms that affects mental cognitive tasks such as memory and reasoning. Dementia is an umbrella term that Alzheimer’s disease can fall under. (healthline.com)
[2] "Social scientists have demonstrated through studies since the 1960s that there was significant reason to be concerned about the accuracy of the eyewitness-identification testimony used in criminal trials. Although witnesses can often be very confident that their memory is accurate when identifying a suspect, the malleable nature of human memory and visual perception makes eyewitness testimony one of the most unreliable forms of evidence." (Trends in State Courts)
[3] Psychologists have pointed out that we also suppress memories that are painful or damaging to self-esteem. We could say that, as a result, memory is unreliable. We could also say it is adaptive, reshaping itself to accommodate the new situations we find ourselves facing. Either way, we have to face the fact that it is “flexible.” Psychology Today
[4] "Memory functions comprise three major subprocesses, i.e., encoding, consolidation, and retrieval. During encoding, the perception of a stimulus results in the formation of a new memory trace, which is initially highly susceptible to disturbing influences and decay, i.e., forgetting. During consolidation, the... memory trace is gradually stabilized possibly involving multiple waves of short and long-term consolidation processes, which serve to strengthen and integrate the memory into preexisting knowledge networks. During retrieval, the stored memory is accessed and recalled." American Physiological Society
[5] "Delta waves are characteristic of sleep. There was little delta during the relaxing and meditative tasks, confirming that nondirective meditation is different from sleep." (Science Daily)
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