DESIGN BY DANIEL LIN
Lost in memory Tammy Newman Staff Writer
Memory is a crucial component of the human experience, yet studies suggest that people forget over half of the information they learn within one hour. Although it can be frustrating to forget to complete an important assignment or tune into a decisive sports game, the ability to forget is actually instrumental in allowing humans to function the way they do. While many fear the thought of losing memories, the concept of forgetting is not always a bad thing. In fact, as reported by Verywell Mind, a health and wellness website, many memories never make it to the long-term memory stage in the first place and those that do are often simplified to efficiently store memories for the future. Forgetting can also be attributed to a phenomenon known as interference. Because some memories compete and interfere with others, they are gradually forgotten. According to Psychiatry News, forgetting can actually benefit cognitive and creative abilities that allow the mind to work more efficiently. For example, brains often disassociate when reading for long periods of time to help one focus on the story, which is scientifically considered a branch of memory loss, as claimed by Vice. Forgetting is also a normal process of aging that generally occurs to those 65 years old and older. Help Guide reports that at a certain age, the brain becomes less capable of producing new brain cells, which can lead to remembering less and less. Nevertheless, there are always ways to reduce memory loss such as training and improving cognitive skills at a young age, remaining physically healthy, consistently getting enough sleep and staying connected with others through social activities. “I always thought diseases that target memory loss were the worst kind of pain. The thought of a family member forgetting my identity is tragic, but it is nice to learn how there is a bright side to everything. If we remembered absolutely everything in our lives, there would be too much for the brain to process and it would become unhealthy for us,” Junior Parmis Broumandi said. On the other hand, excessive forgetfulness can often be a sign of a disease or condition that targets memory, such as Alzheimer’s or amnesia, especially when people grow older. According to the National Institute on Aging, Alzheimer’s—the most common type of dementia—is a disorder that gradually destroys the brain’s memory and cognitive skills to the point that it is unable to carry out simple tasks such as conversing and recognizing faces. Meanwhile, amnesia is the loss of memories that leads to individuals forgetting their own identity, as stated by Mayo Clinic. Both conditions have varying levels of severity, but for extreme cases, Penn Medicine found that memory loss can stimulate mental health problems such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. The loss of memory can also affect patients’ loved ones because in the later stages of memory loss, people may no longer be able to recognize family members or remember the relationships they once had. As stated by Medical News, the brain can instinctively block out memories after undergoing overwhelming trauma as an attempt to protect itself. While the safeguard can be helpful in the short term, memory suppression is temporary, so those who block out trauma usually end up receiving painful flashbacks or intrusive thoughts. “The idea of completely forgetting something is scary, but it is good that the brain is powerful enough to get rid of a memory that is extremely traumatic. I can see how memory suppression could be beneficial momentarily, but therapy is probably the best solution to combat flashbacks when they begin to occur,” Senior Daria Kouzminova said. Overall, forgetting is a complex phenomenon that plays a crucial role in our lives. Although the idea of memory loss may seem frightening, memories are constantly changing and evolving, and the act of forgetting can be helpful to make room for new memories. By taking steps to reduce memory loss, one’s memories can remain intact for years to come.
The influence of memory on life Isaac Ang Investigative Report & Last Word Editor
LYN KANG ART
Phone passwords. The formula for the area of a circle. Eating ice cream with friends. Whether it is information, events or nostalgia, memory is the heart and essence of our lived experience that connects and makes meaning of the individual events of our lives. Memory formation can be divided into three chronological stages: sensory, short-term and long-term. Lasting approximately one second, the sensory stage consists of identifying a stimulus and interpreting it. After information is registered from the sensory organs, data already stored in long-term memory is used to categorize the stimulus. For example, after seeing a round red object with a green stem on top, prior knowledge allows one’s brain to classify it as an apple. There are several types of sensory memory. The most well-known is iconic memory, or information gathered through sight like text or images. Other types of memory include echoic memory, like remembering a musical tune, and haptic memory, which is recalling the texture of an object. Once a stimulus is interpreted, the sensory information is converted into a short-term memory, where it is stored temporarily in the hippocampus, the part of the brain that processes memory and emotion. The information is manipulated for a variety of cognitive tasks: making a decision, understanding a concept or performing a calculation. Information can be pulled from long-term memory to aid in this process; for example, recalling a formula is crucial for performing a mathematical calculation. Sleep is essential for converting short-term memories to long-term memories by saving old memories and preparing the brain to receive new information. A study by Matthew Walker, a professor of neuroscience and psychology at UC Berkeley, revealed that participants who took an afternoon nap were 20% better at remembering face-name pairs than those who stayed awake. Specifically, non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep allows short-term information in the hippocampus to more easily be transferred to the cortex, where long-term information is stored. NREM sleep is often associated with factual recall, while rapid eye movement sleep helps with problem solving. Getting a good night’s sleep may help students remember more on an exam, whereas pulling an all-nighter would be counterproductive. “I make sure to get a full night’s sleep if I know I am completely prepared for an exam. Even if I need to study, I still make sure to sleep before 2 a.m. to ensure I am able to recall facts during the exam,” Junior Rohan Talwar said. Yet memory can be more complex than factual recall. Nostalgia, the mysterious joy that comes unbidden when running into an old friend or hearing a familiar tune, is more than sensory memory: it is episodic, resulting from a combination of sensory and emotional memory. Memories from childhood tend to be the most reinforced, as people form their first connections between objects in the real world during this time. But nostalgia is more than a temporary feeling of joy—scientists have found that nostalgia helps individuals cope with stress and find meaning in their lives. According to online magazine Inverse, nostalgia motivates people to pursue their goals in life and engage in prosocial behavior. Notably, looking at old pictures was found to help soldiers returning from war deal with depression and homesickness. Furthermore, memory is often recognized by students, parents and teachers as a significant aspect of education. However, a greater emphasis could be put onto working memory, which allows students to process and draw connections between a new concept and an old one in the classroom. According to a study conducted by the University of Strathclyde, a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland, emotion strengthens memories, so a possible tactic to help students remember facts in the long run is incorporating humor in lessons. “I write down assignment deadlines to free my memory of cognitive load. Good analytical skills sprinkled in with a decent memory allows one to better comprehend concepts; having a strong memory by itself is not enough to learn new information,” Senior Ishir Garg said. While having a strong recollection may help students get ahead in school, memory encompasses countless other aspects of everyday life as well. Rather than trying to remember distinct events, the brain always seeks to find connections between pieces of information, creating meaning in an otherwise meaningless life.
