All of the readings for this week seemed to focus on the formation and recall of emotional memories. We have examined how basic memories are formed, but these readings focused on particularly intense or traumatic situations. There were moments when I felt like a lot of my questions about memory were being answered in fantastic ways and other moments when I was absolutely confused and didn’t want to be. For example, McGaugh’s section “Nothing like a little stress” (McGaugh, 97) covered a lot about the relationship between norepinephrine, epinephrine and the amygdala. The primary discussion revolved around how the releasing of stress hormones increases the intensity of a memory. There was a lot about the exact process that I would like to know about, but I’m still pretty confused after reading it over several times. I understand the implications of stress hormones on the intensity of memory that he discussed during those few pages, and I’m just lost as to the exact process of how that occurs.
On this same issue, LeDoux points out that slight stress can enhance a memory, due to the release of adrenaline. He attributes this to the increasing activity of the amygdala under stress. On the contrary, the hippocampus falters under stress, which explains memory loss in exceptionally intense situations. He continues his discussion noting, “If indeed the hippocampus is impaired and the amygdala facilitated by stress, it would suggest the possibility that stress shifts us into a mode of operation in which we react to danger rather than think about it.” (LeDoux, 247) This reminded me of last week’s reading, which discussed how when a person is confronted with a threatening situation, their body reacts to the threat before processing what is going on and how to respond to it. I wondered if this fact that “stress shifts us into a mode of operation” would be related to the fact that the amygdala processes innate danger through implicit memory and the hippocampus responds more practically (as in deciding a course of action) as through explicit memory.
The accuracy of our memories was another theme that interested me, as when McGaugh discussed “creative remembering.” (McGaugh, 115) We began addressing this last week in class, through a discussion about how memories can become skewed upon trying to recall them. It is a natural effect, because our new experiences will inevitably affect how we remember old events. I definitely think it’s interesting that the context in which we recall something affects how we think something occurred. It is tempting to think of memories as “imprints” of past experiences and to think that there are certain events that will always stay with you exactly as they occurred. Memory is certainly more deceptive than I realized before beginning all this research.
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With the concept of the creative memories, it was interesting about how the children in the test would be able to create these very complete and complex memories out of something fictitious they were told. McGaugh also talks about how these fabricated memories help hold family units together by repressing or elaborating on experiences that were maybe not positive at all. Why do people need to create memories? Why is our imagination a factor into our past at all? This goes into the concept that people who are depressed have a more realistic view of life. Everyone else is cushioning their lives with creative, colorful memories that didn't necessarily occur to them. Is this a basic survival technique to living life today? Is this another coping mechanism for the stresses we experience on a daily basis?
I found this week's reading to be a bit contradictory in the discussion of emotional intensity and its correlation to the formation of memory. It seemed that McGaugh and LeDoux both agreed that stress can increase the intensity of a memory, but LeDoux also states that stress can inhibit the hippocampus from optimal functioning. So, what does this mean exactly?
Although it appears to be helpful in explaining the role of repression in such high stress situations, but how come repressed memories can be "uncovered" if, all along, the hippocampus was impaired in the repressed situation? Or is it the amygdala that plays a more primary role in repression (as it seems to be correlated with implicit memory)?
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