It’s Magical. It’s Malleable, It’s Memory

What is the relationship between memory and selfhood?
We are who we are as a result of what we remember. In other words, memory shapes who we are. Freud assumed that childhood had lots of influence on who you are. Childhood in that sense means memory in childhood. If memory of childhood is wiped out, our self will cease as it has no base. This is because, in my personal experience, we base our self, who we are, on our past experience or memories.

What new discovery about memory do you find most interesting?
I find the discovery that memory is a primitive part of the brain interesting. This is because this implies that memory exists before we are able to human beings developed. In other words, memory can exist even though we do not have language etc. This is also interesting in the sense that memory is half unconscious. This means that we might be able to remember more than we can recall. Or that we can learn when our conscious brain is damaged or destroyed.

How can some memories become indelible?
Some memory can become indelible through the influences of emotions. In witnessing an event like, a homicide, stress hormones and hormones like adrenaline are released. These hormones assist in forcing the mind to encode the memory to long term. Then if this memory is recalled over and over, the connections between the neurons are strengthened. With strengthened connections, these memories are kept “fresh.” Moreover, sleep too allows for effective transference of short term memory to long term. Thus to make a memory indelible, we need an emotional event, which is continually refreshed and a good night sleep.

How can amnesia and repression be explained?
Amnesia and repression might be a result of the hippocampus malfunctioning. For repression, in a extremely emotional event, multiple stress hormones are released. Some of these stress hormones could interfere with the process of the hippocampus. With the hippocampus not fully functioning, some event might not be stored. If the hippocampus ceases to function, all new explicit information will not be stored. For amnesia, the hippocampus is an extremely fragile part of the brain. It is said to be one of the first part of the brain to suffer when oxygen is deprived. Another process of the hippocampus is to restore unconscious memories to the conscious mind. If the hippocampus is damaged through an accident maybe, amnesia might occur.

Explain the following statement: "Memory is more reconstructive than reproductive."
Memory is a reconstruction of events. Thus two reconstructed memories are highly likely to be different. In other words, in the second reconstruction, we might have added some new information (both false and real), and we might have lost some detail. Thus memory is not a replica of what had happened but a recreation of what had happened. Thus memory is more reconstructive than reproductive.

What new paradigm of memory is now emerging?
Memory, before, was believed to be photographic of the event. However, today, memory is believed to be a blend between reality and fiction. Today witness’s accounts are less valid in court cases as we have discovered that memory is a reconstruction, not a replication. Also we are learning that language, emotion, and schemas influence our memory. Thus through these influences our self is created. This is because, memory, or past experiences, is believed to be the foundation of our self.

After reading this article, what conclusions can you make about memory?
Memories are a blend of fact and fiction. Partially, I feel that memory is what we want to remember what we experience by. This is because, we can lie to our self to the point that we believe the lie to be true. I also feel that memories form who we are. However, memory is very fragile. Even though the memory might be permanently stored in our brain, with a little damage to our hippocampus the memory might be lost forever inside the brain. On the other hand, memory can strengthen though repetition or emotional association. In the end, I find memory to utterly important to who we are.