This is a half personal question, and I’d like to understand what the brain does when a traumatic memory becomes suppressed, and it’s almost impossible to find in a timeline of memories?
In: 29
First off, it’s important to note that we aren’t sure how memories work. There are a number of theories that describe how memories are recalled and how it all works out, but we aren’t 100% certain about any of them. This is because at the bare bones of it all, extremely fine processes are involved. Not just at the cellular level, but at the chemical level. We’re talking electrons and atomic movements and how they form and interact with structures in the brain. It’s really difficult to study how these work in practice because it’s so difficult to observe.
We do know that neurons are heavily involved with memories. Think of these like bridges that have cars (electricity) moving in and out of them. When you experience something important, a memory of it is created. This is the brain literally constructing the neurons needed to both store and recall the memory for later use. When you remember the memory, electrical signals are sent through it that jump from neuron to neuron and stimulate activity. For the sake of the simplicity, let’s ignore how these electrical signals actually jumpstart the recollection process as that would delve much deeper into the nitty gritty chemistry.
The more neurons that are involved with a memory, the stronger the memory is because more information about the event is stored between them all. More neurons for a memory can be created by forcefully recalling the memory again and again, which runs cars (electrical signals) through it. The brain senses that this must be important and so it reinforces the memory by creating stronger, thicker bridges. You can think of the electricity as a type of catnip for the neurons that helps them become more vivid and stronger.
The opposite is also true. When a memory is no longer useful or painful for you, the brain senses that the neuronal pathways aren’t being used and it will destroy (deconstruct) the neurons to weaken the bridge. It does this because it likes to use energy as efficiently as possible, and if something isn’t being used, it can use that energy elsewhere. With regards to suppression of traumatic memories, that is what is happening. Your brain is getting rid of the structures associated with the memory so it can forget about them. It will detonate the links between neurons and isolate them from other neurons so you can’t remember them.
Traumatic memories *can* resurface after a while, again, for reasons that are unknown. This could be because the brain hasn’t destroyed all the neurons involved with it and a handful of neurons are still hanging around, and when you suddenly remember them again, electricity runs through them.
Latest Answers