I’m talking about those things that you normally know but may forget momentarily. It’s like your brain draws a blank or can’t access the info. What causes that when it happens?
In: 912
Most depictions of the brain show a library with memory books that can be pulled out whenever you want. However, a more accurate depiction of memory as strings of information. You keep pulling at the string to get more information about a subject.
An example is the alphabet song. It’s easy to start at a letter and continue to sing the song as you pull the string along. However, it’s very difficult to go in reverse or compare two separate letters without singing the song since the memories are stored in one direction!
For information about a person, your brain first matches its sensory information to a particular string. The person’s build, facial features, movements, sound, even smell help us find a particular string that indicates we know this person. Then we start pulling on the string to get more stored information.
However, sometimes when you pull the string, you end up with an empty string end. Memory strings are strengthened from use but will weaken or break if not used. Furthermore, when your brain is organizing memories, it can accidentally break a few strings. When you can’t pull up the information from the string, you literally draw a blank.
Thankfully, once you’re reminded of the name, your brain can reattach the missing name string to the person and it helps you recall other information attached to the name.
Latest Answers