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The Human Memory Puzzle
Memory is a term used to describe the act of remembering. This is a simple definition of a complex set of processes the human mind and body does in order to recall an event or a piece of information. The event to remember can involve multiple senses, feelings, and understanding.
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Memory Formation
As a human, you are forming memories every day. The memories you are forming are temporary or permanent depending on information exposure.
Short term storage is the little things that make up the human day. These are things you do not need to actively remember doing such as brushing your teeth. You might need a reminder to do it, but you will not usually remember the act unless something happens while you are brushing your teeth.
Long term storage is the term applied to the memories that are significant or important to remember. These are memories you don’t want to or can’t forget like the birth of your first child, your social security number or that car accident last year.
The Human Senses
The beauty of the brain is that it is involved with how you are remembering. As you are remembering an event, other things get attached to it that you might not consider as part of the memories. If you remember the act of brushing your teeth, you are also remembering what your senses are telling you about the situation.
As you brush your teeth you don’t just have the visual image of yourself in the mirror to remember. Your mind remembers the feeling of the toothbrush on your teeth gums, the sound of the brush on your teeth and the taste and the smell of the toothpaste. It is a complete sensory experience.
How we remember
How we remember is a combination of a section of your own mind. The occipital lobe, the temporal lobe, the parietal lobe the hippocampus and the amygdale all work together to produce human memories. Each piece is sensory related so the mind is interpreting and remembering based on all the information that it is receiving.
The brain stem is also involved. If you touch something hot, you will receive the sensory input that you have touched something that is hot. This can lead to memories forming through that experience. You will remember sticking your hand in the fire through the sensation of burning you remember.
Human health dictates that we ingest foods that will strengthen and sustain us. This is the healthiest way to keep ourselves functioning at our peak. Genetics and life experiences change our bodies to suit what our lives lead up to a point.
Remembering is a mixed blessing. Studying for long periods of time can teach your mind a lot about a subject and about how it needs to remembered. It is also a part of life that can be difficult to comprehend. How one person remembers is completely different than how another person remembers. This is why eye-witness testimonies vary and how two people can remember the same event in completely different ways
