Eli5: Since we can miss-remember the past, how do our brains build these false memories? Sometimes our memories can be completely made up.

Question

Eli5: Since we can miss-remember the past, how do our brains build these false memories? Sometimes our memories can be completely made up.

In: Biology

Answer 1

Basically, the human brain is a pattern engine. When a memory is fragmented, or incomplete, our brain fills in the gaps with something that makes sense. So. Even if you remember it a certain way, that doesn’t mean it actually happened that way.