Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: neilep on 02/08/2020 16:39:41
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This is silly because I can't recall the memory that made me think to ask this question.
A few days ago , something completely tedious sparked a memory that was so banal that it makes watching snails watching paint dry .......a rave !!
Is it possible that we do actually store every single instance of our every day life ? how ever mind numbingly insipid it is ?
Recalling this memory surprised me, it was a trite recollection from many years ago that one would never ordinarily expect to be stored as a memory.
whajafink ?
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I'm doubtful of this. I recently watched footage of an old video game that I played when I was a child, and most of it didn't even ring a bell for me. So apparently, my mind had gotten rid of a lot of the content of that game that I was once exposed to.
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it was a trite recollection from many years ago
There are many kinds of memory - the type you mention is episodic memory.
Even when you don't remember an explicit event (most people can't recall what they had for dinner 5 years ago...), our experiences can adjust our tendencies, by strengthening or weakening specific neuronal connections in the brain.
- It's not clear how this happens, but it is likely that sleep and dreaming has something to do with it
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory#By_information_type
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Chances are that we synthesise plausible memories in response to some triggers, and polish the synthesis with other memories. This seems to happen under friendly interrogation of a witness: "What happened next? Can you remember what happened before...." and an entire scene gradually emerges that is at least plausible and possibly accurate, though as has often been demonstrated, quite significant chunks may be missing - the classic "gorilla experiment" is a fine example where the implausible doesn't even register in the short-term memory.
The video game is a potential clue too. What you see in a video game has no implications for real food, real sex or real fighting, so it does not make plausible connections with the deepseated things that matter. I've looked at methods of teaching people to take x-rays. If they study the science, pass the theory test, then x-ray real patients, they generally forget the theory within a year, but where we have first taught the practical side and coached a student through a real patient episode, the later theory tends to stick. Or, as the medics say, "See one, do one, teach one."
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Chances are that we synthesise plausible memories in response to some triggers, and polish the synthesis with other memories. This seems to happen under friendly interrogation of a witness: "What happened next? Can you remember what happened before...." and an entire scene gradually emerges that is at least plausible and possibly accurate, though as has often been demonstrated, quite significant chunks may be missing - the classic "gorilla experiment" is a fine example where the implausible doesn't even register in the sort-term memory.
Hi Alan.
Speaking of memory,
you forgot to address the problems with what you posted here.
https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=80136.0