Have we all tried to erase from our minds an unpleasant memory, a traumatic experience, an unfortunate word?However, it is more difficult for the brain to forget than to remember. It is as if this fascinating organ is determined to whisper: “Remember, remember, because your memories are the essence of your experience. “
While it is true that this reality may seem desperate, it should be noted that everything has a purpose in the world of neuroscience.
- Memory builds who we are.
- If we could erase a chapter of our lives as we please.
- We would cease to be who we are.
- Because after all.
- We are our lights and our shadows.
- Our successes.
- And also our mistakes and tragedies.
However, this does not mean that scientists do not wonder why this happens, why can’t the brain erase a specific fact?in the same margins of memory and suffering?
A recent study revealed the answers to these questions
“It is normal to say that time will heal everything, that it will also pass. People forget. Now it works when you are not the protagonist of this fact, because when you are, there is no passage of time that makes you forget; Are you in the middle of something that doesn’t change?. – John Steinbeck-
The University of Texas at Austin conducted a study to find out why forgetting is harder for the brain than remembering. While it is true that this happens frequently, we must understand what neural mechanisms orchestrate this psychological reality.
Jarrod Lewis-Peacock, lead author of the study and professor of psychology at university, noted something important. Is the brain? We continually forget data and experiences, and we almost always do so in our sleep.
Now we do it unconsciously and without having control over it, the reason is that the brain chooses to reject irrelevant facts, its goal is to improve your efficiency.
On the other hand, one thing that has been seen in MRI is this: when a person has trouble forgetting something specific, there are three regions of the brain in which all the effort is concentrated, these are the prefrontal cortex, the ventral temporal cortex and the hippocampus.
There are neutral and other very emotional memories, as neuroscientists explain, the material that we forget almost instantly is the visual, throughout the day we end up forgetting 80% of what we see: the license plates, the faces of the people we know. , the colors of the clothes worn by others, etc.
However, if there is one thing that resists oblivion strongly are all the facts in which the impression of an emotion remains, if something has caused us fear, shame or happiness, it will be remembered because the brain considers it important.
On the other hand, there is a remarkable fact, many of our memories are rich because they are formed through associations, when we experience something specific, our brain combines images, smells, sounds and our own impressions of past events. consolidates some memories.
Every experience, sensation, thought, habit and emotion causes a change in the brain, a connection is generated, the brain reorganizes and changes, forgetting is more complicated than remembering because removing a fragment of our past also means removing that connection, this brain synapse.
One way or another, every experience, both pleasurable and unpleasant, prepares the brain for future experiences, and all these synapses and brain changes created from every fact lived and felt build this brain anatomy that defines us.
Every memory, every sensation builds, so to speak, the mountains of our vital geological ages.
In the study cited above and conducted by Dr. Lewis-Peacock of the University of Texas, the emphasis is on a curious detail: intentional forgetfulness is possible in some cases.
However, according to the research done, a person can forget an experience?Generate moderate brain activity right now? What does that mean?
On the other hand, if the emotional component is intense, if we constantly focus our reflection on the fact that we want to forget, it is 100% likely not to happen.
It sounds ironic, but the brain mechanism respects this rule, so with this idea in mind, we have to assume only one very simple fact: forgetfulness solves nothing.
After all, we are the result of our successes and mistakes, assuming that every loss, error or dissatisfaction is part of our learning as human beings.