What’s actually happening in our brain when we look for something that we’re holding

Question

I’m 36, and no I don’t have any neurological issues but I just spent about 3 minutes looking for my phone while I was holding it In my left hand the entire time. what happens in the brain that causes us to forget or not remember the simplest things

In: 6

Answer 1

BA in psych with emphasis in cognition.

Very very briefly, the brain systems that make up working memory (the things being held in consciousness as relevant to right now, and which are very distinct from medium- or long-term storage) are not the same systems that run sensorimotor functions.

When you forget you’re holding something, the sensorimotor cortex is still executing the last order it received (“Hold this,” without any information about the thing it’s holding, just that it needs to hold it) and then the working memory (which involves several different brain areas) proceeds to get distracted or full and drop the fact that it asked the sensorimotor cortex to hold onto something.

Which is to say that the part of the brain responsible for holding things isn’t told what it’s holding or why, while the executive functions then proceed to forget they told the hold-things part to hold the thing.

Answer 2

BA in psych with emphasis in cognition.

Very very briefly, the brain systems that make up working memory (the things being held in consciousness as relevant to right now, and which are very distinct from medium- or long-term storage) are not the same systems that run sensorimotor functions.

When you forget you’re holding something, the sensorimotor cortex is still executing the last order it received (“Hold this,” without any information about the thing it’s holding, just that it needs to hold it) and then the working memory (which involves several different brain areas) proceeds to get distracted or full and drop the fact that it asked the sensorimotor cortex to hold onto something.

Which is to say that the part of the brain responsible for holding things isn’t told what it’s holding or why, while the executive functions then proceed to forget they told the hold-things part to hold the thing.