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Why is it that I can remember little unimportant events that happened in my childhood over 20 years ago, but I can't remember what I wore last Monday? I know major events or traumatic events that happened in your life your brain will remember for years, but I can remember one particular day sitting in my elementary school classroom listening to the teacher talk about some uninteresting fact. I cannot remember any other days immediately surrounding this one event. So, I'm a just wondering if any of you science minded folks know how your brain decides which little events to pick out from your past and store permanently in your memory?

2006-09-20 05:40:47 · 11 answers · asked by Justme 4 in Science & Mathematics Biology

11 answers

This is a very interesting question. I am an MD, and as such we are tasked to know huge volumes of data at a moment's notice, so this subject is dear to my heart.
There was a study with rats in a maze that gave the "study" rats a little unpleasant electric shock every time they came to a fork in the road and had to make a decision. The shock was always given regardless of whether the rat's decision was correct or incorrect. The "control" rats were just given the same maze to learn in just the usual way, to get to the food. Guess what! The rats who where electrically shocked learned the maze over twice as fast! The conclusion of the authors is that excitement and/or stress greatly enhanced learning, and therefore memory, at least in rats. So I believe that we remember things better when there is a little adrenalin pumping, either good (excited) or bad (stressed).

2006-09-20 05:51:02 · answer #1 · answered by Sciencenut 7 · 4 0

As taught at Psychology I courses brain does not forget anything lived. However, some information goes to some part of brain that you cannot ever remember or need a shocking event to remember.
We can remember past things better than earlier things.
Some people can remember even their babyhood. If they have strong memorizing capability. You might have such a strong memory. However, many of us cannot do.
What brain does on remembering is "recalling".

2006-09-20 12:55:48 · answer #2 · answered by tapsev 3 · 4 0

i think it decides to remember what you pay the most attention to, you can't remember when you were in elementary school bcoz you probably weren't paying attention, and you didn't remember what you wore last week bcoz you did not care about it. you remember traumatic events because your feelings got involved, like you had sympathy.
when emotions gets involved the brain thinks it is something important, i doubt u have emotions about the clothes you wear.

that is my take on things

2006-09-20 12:54:51 · answer #3 · answered by lilykiss8 2 · 2 0

It takes 60 second of concentration to form a long term memory.

2006-09-20 12:42:51 · answer #4 · answered by thirsty mind 6 · 3 0

In my case, my brain asks me what I want to know and I tell it what to come up with.

2006-09-20 12:42:34 · answer #5 · answered by Vage Centurian 3 · 2 0

our brain is a wondering creature

2006-09-20 12:43:11 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2 0

it depends upon the brain.

2006-09-20 12:45:58 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2 0

if you find how,be sure you win a Noble price

2006-09-20 12:55:10 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2 0

I was going to tell you, but then I forgot.

2006-09-20 12:43:38 · answer #9 · answered by Nefertiti 5 · 1 1

sorry,iv'e forgot,what was the question.

2006-09-20 12:42:28 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2 1

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