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Memory Formation
Memory always forms a huge part of our everyday life. In most activities that we always indulge in, we usually use our memory. For instance, when you are playing the piano, memory is usually essential as you remember the positioning of the keys. Memory is often defined as the ability of humans or any other animal to capture data and activity then later recall them. It is often interesting to note that sometimes we use our memories even without knowing that we are doing so. This is because even those skills that we usually use our memory to perform the tasks and skills that we have mastered for a long time. Therefore, this makes memory one of the fundamental aspects of our existence. There are various aspects or types of memory, and these are sensory, short term memory, working, and long-term memory. Long-term memory is often considered to be very significant. Under this, implicit and explicit memories are vital. Implicit memories are those that are sensory in nature and adopted easily recall, i.e., breathing, riding a bicycle. Concurrently, explicit memory involves specific episodes or information. Memory formation is, therefore, a core process. Memory formation always has got three processes that liken it to the process of taking a photo. Therefore, this paper offers an analysis of these processes with the premise that memories are like a photo.
Photos or taking photos have often been a trend in the current technological world. Pictures have evolved from being taken and stored in films and processed in dark rooms. Instead, pictures are, these days, captured and stored in micro SD cards where they can be retrieved anytime when needed. Consequently, this makes the process of photography quite similar to the memory storage and recall process. Typically, “memory formation is one of the most fascinating and complex brain functions.” (Kampa et al., 2011). However, this paper will try to analyze these aspects by simplifying how the processes connect with the photography process. In this regard, the study will consider long term memory to make this comparison.
Memory formation always involves the capturing of information, storage, and recall. The first stage of memory formation is usually the sensory register, where the brains capture information. This process is often a very short process that does and takes a few seconds. Therefore, this coincides with the concept of photography. For the picture to be formed, the environment or activity is first captured. Capturing doesn’t take much time as the camera focuses and captures in a split of seconds – through the lenses. The same is the case in memory, where our eyes are the lenses that help us to capture the surrounding environment. Consequently, it translates to the neurological systems. In the memory, just as in pictures, the attention or focus given will always determine how the captured information or photo will be stored.
After the sensory register, the memory is stored. There are various parts of the brain that is concerned with the process of storage. This is normally depended on the type of memory. Brain parts such as the hippocampus, amygdala, and the neocortex are responsible for the storage of explicit memories. Whereas, basal ganglia and the cerebellum stores the implicit memory; as the prefrontal cortex stores the working memory. In this paper, all these storage sites are comparable to the SD-card, where all that is captured is stored. As mentioned earlier, memories are either short term or long term, and the focus determines these memories. Short term memory can sometimes include even working memory. This information isn’t stored for long, as they are only used for a while. In most cases, humans don’t focus much on short term memories during the capture of information. Therefore, I can liken his to pictures whereby those which aren’t given better focus are always deleted at the moment or later. In the case of memory, they are forgotten. Concurrently, there is long-term memory, which is essential as the subject focused much on them. The pieces of information are thus, stored for an extended period of time. This is similar to the pictures where the essential ones are saved for a more extended period of time.
The memory formation is then followed by remembering and forgetting. As they are stored, long-term memory can easily be remembered by an individual. In some cases, long-term memory can be forgotten. This is due to various factors, such as interfering with the memory by replacing it. This is quite similar to a photo since, after taking and storing it in the SD-card, one is able to access them. However, the ones that didn’t have a proper focus is deleted. Kensinger (2009) claims that “even when we retain memories of past events, they never are exact reproductions of those initial experiences.” This is still the same case in a photo – we can’t relive the actual moments captured. Instead, they are essential as they used to remind us of those moments when they cooccurred.
In conclusion, there are various elements of memory formation that can be likened to a photograph. Memory creation involves a few processes that are complex; however, they can be compared to the processes of photograph formation too. In memory formation, there is information capture – similar to the capture of the environment in a photograph. In both cases, the level of focus that is given to what is captured will determine how it is stored. Memory can either be stored as long-term or short-term. Similarly, in pictures, it can either be deleted or stored for sometimes and retained when needed. Long-term memory can always be retrieved unless it is replaced by another memory. Both memory and photos can remind us of these moments but can’t reproduce the exact experience. Consequently, human memory is just like a photo.
Works Cited
Kensinger, Elizabeth A. “Remembering the Details: Effects of Emotion.” Emotion review :
journal of the International Society for Research on Emotion vol. 1,2 (2009): 99-113.
doi:10.1177/1754073908100432.
Kampa, Björn M et al. “Circuit mechanisms of memory formation.” Neural plasticity vol. 2011
(2011): 494675. doi:10.1155/2011/494675