Where does memory actually go when you forget?
In: Biology
Depends on what your asking probably.
– Where does a memory go when you forget it and never recall it for the rest of your life?
MadMunky 5b5 probably has best answer for this.
– Where does a memory go when you forget it but remember it unexpectedly some time later?
Think of your mind like a map of a city. Memories are bulidings. The layout of the roads change, and the exact location of buildings may shift over time.
The roads you use the most / memories you think of the most almost never change. The roads you use the least are eventually lost. If a memory is unused long enough, it will be destroyed.
Sometimes you can go a long time without thinking of a particular thing or person. The memory and path to it are still good even if you do not use it. That is how you remember the name of that one guy you have not even thought of 5 years after running into him on the street or hearing his name.
When you are aware of something you cannot remember, like the name of that actor who played Jeordi on Star Trek TNG, or the name of that drummer with one arm, it means the building is still there but you cannot find a path to it. Eventually you find or form a new path to that memory or just google it and recreate the path that way.
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