Memory shapes our identity and influences our life choices. We will look at how past experiences affect the present and the future.
We live our lives in debt to memory. Memory has shaped the essential elements of life, such as individual personality, relationships, lifestyle habits, and language. Memory is not just a repository of information, but a key element in the formation of our identity. Past experiences shape who we are today and influence our future choices. Whatever choices we make are influenced by the memories accumulated in the past, and those choices are then accumulated as new memories to form the trajectory of our lives.
Throughout our lives, we make important decisions based on memory as our guide. When we think about it, it is truly amazing that everything we see, touch, and feel is stored somewhere in our minds with a sense of vagueness. These memories are not just a tool for reflecting on the past, but a living database that continues to influence us in the present. For example, the phenomenon of hearing a certain smell or sound and recalling a particular moment from the past is an example of how deeply rooted our memories are.
So how are memories stored in our brains? Do they roll around in our brains like the marbles in the animated movie Inside Out, and are they stored in the long-term memory center? In fact, the process of storing memories in our brains is not much different. It uses a memory storage system that goes from short-term memory to short-term memory to long-term memory. While we applaud Pixar’s creativity in reinterpreting the storage of memory balls in memory, let’s take a closer look at this structure.
First, all the stimuli we see, hear, and feel are converted into electrical signals and transmitted through the body’s nervous system to the brain. These electrical signals become short-term memories and remain as afterimages that pass through our minds. Walking down the street, the everyday scenery around us, or the scenery while driving a car are all types of short-term memories that are erased from our minds after a few seconds. However, among these numerous short-term memories, there are some that stimulate the brain strongly, and these memories are transferred to the short-term memory and remembered for several minutes. Short-term memories can be forgotten by surrounding distractions or other new stimuli. This is what happens when you memorize a phone number and forget it when a friend talks to you next to you.
Short-term memory is not controlled by just one part of the brain. The brain processes memories differently depending on the senses or the content perceived. Remembering the location of an object activates the prefrontal cortex of the right brain. Verbal activities, such as remembering words, activate the left prefrontal cortex. Thus, the brain does not have a single central processing unit that collects and processes short-term memories. The brain is a collection of different parts that process thoughts through short-term memory.
Short-term memories activate the transfer of substances that occur at the synapses of neurons, which are the brain’s neural transmission system, or continue to be transferred and progress within the closed circuit of neurons. However, long-term memory is not regulated by the activity of synapses, but is stored by changing the structure of the neurons themselves. In other words, short-term memory is not based on the physical changes of neurons, but on the activity of neurotransmitters. Long-term memory, however, is less affected by other stimuli because it changes the structure of the neurons themselves and can be stored for a longer period of time.
In this respect, long-term memory has a major impact on our identity. For example, intense events experienced in childhood can be stored in long-term memory and affect our emotions and behavior even as adults. Thus, long-term memory plays an important role in the formation of our personality, going beyond the mere accumulation of information.
So where is this long-term memory stored in the brain? Unfortunately, we still don’t know exactly where in the brain certain memories are stored because there is not enough research on the brain. However, the results of previous studies show that all parts of the nervous system, from the brain to the spinal cord, can store memories because of the existence of plastic, or changeable, neurons. Therefore, even if the brain is partially damaged, we have the potential to function normally, and the brain can even regenerate the damaged parts normally based on the remaining intact parts. In addition, because memories are repeatedly stored in different parts of the cerebral cortex, we can maintain our memories even if a problem occurs in one part.
Of course, there are areas that directly affect memory. These are the medial temporal lobe and the hippocampus, which are located on the lateral side of the brain and are responsible for forming long-term memories. Therefore, if there is a problem in these areas, the memories before the problem occurred will be preserved in their original state, but the memories after the problem occurred will be disrupted and confused, resulting in memory impairment.
It is important to remember, however, that the mysterious and complex world of the brain is not yet fully understood. The academic aspects of the brain that we know have been studied by looking for areas of the brain that are activated through anatomy or magnetic resonance imaging. Therefore, research on the brain is still inadequate. I think we will be able to find new aspects of memory when new research methods or directions for the brain are presented.
Finally, it is important to note that memory is not just an individual experience. Individual memory is intertwined with social memory and is closely tied to the history and culture of a group. Social memory is the collective memory of a particular event or person that also influences our behavior and way of thinking. This social dimension of memory transcends the individual and plays an important role in shaping the future of a community.
