{"id":1615,"date":"2011-02-09T16:01:09","date_gmt":"2011-02-09T20:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/ombs\/?p=1615"},"modified":"2011-02-09T16:01:09","modified_gmt":"2011-02-09T20:01:09","slug":"memory-101-understanding-how-we-remember","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/2011\/02\/09\/memory-101-understanding-how-we-remember\/","title":{"rendered":"Memory 101: Understanding How We Remember"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"addthis_button\" href=\"http:\/\/www.addthis.com\/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;username=xa-4bb6bcc8320e5dd9\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/s7.addthis.com\/static\/btn\/v2\/lg-share-en.gif\" alt=\"Bookmark and Share\" width=\"125\" height=\"16\" \/><\/a><script src=\"http:\/\/s7.addthis.com\/js\/250\/addthis_widget.js#username=xa-4bb6bcc8320e5dd9\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Do you ever wonder how you are able to remember the name of your third-grade teacher, or the skills you use to ride a bike, or even lines from your favorite movie? \u00a0Well, if you haven&#8217;t then you should, because it takes the workings of many regions of our brain to combine all the different aspects of one memory into a cohesive unit.<\/p>\n<p>The first step in this complex process deals with our perceptions and senses. \u00a0Think about the last time you visited the beach. \u00a0Recall the sound of the wind and birds, the sight of the sun and ocean, the smell of the salt water and the feeling of the hot sand and shells underfoot. \u00a0Your brain merges all of these different perceptions together, crafting them into the &#8220;memory&#8221; that we are able to recall.<\/p>\n<p>All of these separate sensations travel to the part of our brain called the hippocampus. \u00a0Along with the frontal cortex, the hippocampus plays a huge part in our memory system. \u00a0These two regions decide what is worth remembering and then store this information throughout the brain.<\/p>\n<p>Perception starts the processes leading up to encoding and storage, which takes place through our brains&#8217; synapses (or the gaps between neurons). \u00a0Through these synapses, neurons are able to electrically and chemically transmit information between themselves. \u00a0When an electric pulse is fired across the gap, it triggers the release of chemical messengers called neurotransmitters.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 313px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/en\/thumb\/a\/a6\/Chemical_synapse_schema.jpg\/450px-Chemical_synapse_schema.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"303\" height=\"389\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Here is a clear view of communication between neurons through the releasing of neurotransmitters over the synapse.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff\"> <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>From there, the spread of information begins. \u00a0The neurotransmitters diffuse to neighboring cells and attach to them, forming thousands of links. \u00a0All of these cells process and organize the information as a network. \u00a0Similar areas of information are connected and are constantly being reorganized as our brain processes more and more.<\/p>\n<p>Changes are reinforced with use. \u00a0So let&#8217;s say you are learning to play a sport. \u00a0The more you practice, the stronger the rewiring and connections will become, thus allowing the brain to do less work as the initiation of pulses becomes easier with repetitive firing. \u00a0This is how you get better at a certain task and are able to perform at a higher level without making as many mistakes. \u00a0But again, because our brain never stops the process of input and output, practice needs to be constant in order to promote strong information retention.<\/p>\n<p>Knowing all of this, it probably comes as no surprise that the most basic function for ensuring proper memory encoding is to pay specific attention to what you are doing. \u00a0We are exposed to thousands of things in very short amounts of time, so the majority of it is ignored. \u00a0If we pay more attention to select, specific bits of information, we&#8217;ll have a higher potential to remember certain things (try it out for yourself in lecture).<\/p>\n<p>Since the actual process has been discussed, we&#8217;ll go into greater detail about the types of memory we have and how they differ. \u00a0There are three basic memory types that act as a filter systems for what we find important. \u00a0This is based on what we need to know and for how long we need to know it.<\/p>\n<p>The first is sensory memory, which is basically ultra-short-term memory. \u00a0It is based off of input from the five senses and usually lasts a few seconds or so. \u00a0An example would be looking at a car that passes by and remembering what color it was based on that split second intake. \u00a0The effect is vaguely lingering, and is forgotten almost instantly.<\/p>\n<p>Short-term memory is the next category. \u00a0People sometimes refer to it as &#8220;the brain&#8217;s Post-it note&#8221;. \u00a0It has the ability to retain around seven items of information for about less than a minute. \u00a0Some examples would include telephone numbers or even a sentence that you quickly glance over (such as this one). \u00a0You have to remember what is being said at the beginning to understand the context. \u00a0Likewise, numbers are usually better remembered, and have longer staying power in the brain, when split up (800-493-2751 instead of 8004932751 for instance).<\/p>\n<p>Repetition and conscious effort to retain information leads to the transformation of short-term memory into long-term memory. \u00a0By rehearsing information without interference or disturbances, one is better able to remember things and ingrain them into his\/her brain. \u00a0This is a gradual process, but it proves why studying is important! \u00a0Unlike the other two memory categories, long-term memory has the ability to retain unlimited amounts of information for a seemingly indefinite amount of time.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 330px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.human-memory.net\/images\/memory_types.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"320\" height=\"296\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This diagram shows a more complex view of the major memory types and their subdivisions.  <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff\"> <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>A \u00a0piece of information must pass from both sensory and short-term memory to successfully be encoded in long-term memory. \u00a0Failure to do so generally leads to the phenomenon known as &#8220;forgetting&#8221;, something that many of us are all too familiar with ironically enough!<\/p>\n<p>To give a common example of long-term encoding and memory retrieval, consider trying to recall where you have put your keys down. \u00a0First, you must register where you are putting your keys and attention while putting them down so that you can remember later. \u00a0Accomplishing all of this helps a memory to be stored, retained, and ready for retrieval when necessary.<\/p>\n<p>Forgetting may deal with distraction, or simply just failure to properly retrieve a memory. \u00a0That being said, it should be noted that there is no predisposition to having a &#8220;good&#8221; or a &#8220;bad&#8221; memories. \u00a0Most people are good at remembering certain things (numbers, procedures and mechanisms for example) better than others (names, phrases, or even entire plays) and vice versa. \u00a0It all depends on where you are able to focus your interests and your attention.<\/p>\n<p>Hopefully, you will be able to remember some of this so that you can use your understanding of the complexities of the brain and memory encoding to your advantage. \u00a0After all, your brain does all the hard work for you! \u00a0Now you just need to pay attention and focus on what you find important and what you want to remember to best suit your own needs.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/health.howstuffworks.com\/human-body\/systems\/nervous-system\/human-memory.htm\">How Human Memory Works<\/a> &#8211; Discovery Health<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.human-memory.net\/types.html\">Types of Memory<\/a> &#8211; The Human Memory<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/tech\/columnist\/aprilholladay\/2007-03-12-memory-first_N.htm\">How Does Human Memory Work?<\/a> &#8211; USATODAY.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you ever wonder how you are able to remember the name of your third-grade teacher, or the skills you use to ride a bike, or even lines from your favorite movie? \u00a0Well, if you haven&#8217;t then you should, because it takes the workings of many regions of our brain to combine all the different [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7098,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[587],"tags":[835,912],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1615"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7098"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1615"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1615\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}