- Last 7 days
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emmarshall.github.io emmarshall.github.io
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Recall of false autobiographical memories is called false memory syndrome. This syndrome has received a lot of publicity, particularly as it relates to memories of events that do not have independent witnesses—often the only witnesses to the abuse are the perpetrator and the victim (e.g., sexual abuse).
The notion of false memory syndrome seems troubling to me. How can our brain convince us of remembering something that never even happened?
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emmarshall.github.io emmarshall.github.io
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It is also believed that strong emotions trigger the formation of strong memories, and weaker emotional experiences form weaker memories; this is called arousal theory (Christianson, 1992). For example, strong emotional experiences can trigger the release of neurotransmitters, as well as hormones, which strengthen memory; therefore, our memory for an emotional event is usually better than our memory for a non-emotional event.
I find this to be surprising because for me personally, I tend to remember more mundane events with extreme detail and it is harder for me to remember times when I was very angry or very sad. I think this stems from the brains tendency to sometimes "block out" certain emotional events.
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Lashley did not find evidence of the engram, and the rats were still able to find their way through the maze, regardless of the size or location of the lesion. Based on his creation of lesions and the animals’ reaction, he formulated the equipotentiality hypothesis: if part of one area of the brain involved in memory is damaged, another part of the same area can take over that memory function (Lashley, 1950)
I find this whole study to be very interesting. The brain is so complex and it is fascinating that we fully function from this one organ. I would be interested in seeing human examples of our brains sustaining injury and memory function still maintains.
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emmarshall.github.io emmarshall.github.io
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Think about what you know of other languages; perhaps you even speak multiple languages. Imagine for a moment that your closest friend fluently speaks more than one language. Do you think that friend thinks differently, depending on which language is being spoken?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKK7wGAYP6k
I watched this TED talk a while ago, and I thought that it connected well to this concept. It talks about how language shapes the way an individual thinks, and how different languages cause those who speak it to think differently. An example I find interesting is that a certain aboriginal group uses cardinal directions instead of right or left, and this causes them to think completely differently about distance and time than English speakers.
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