Often forget things? Experts say 'forgetting' is actually a form of learning
As we go through life, we make a lot of memories but forget about many of them. Ever wondered why? Researchers answering this question believe that 'forgetting' may not be a negative thing and is actually a form of learning.
A group of researchers, during a study, has proposed a theory that forgetting represents a form of learning. The study is published in the 'Nature Reviews Neuroscience Journal'.
According to researchers behind this theory, changes in our ability to access certain memories are based on environmental feedback and predictability. Rather than being a flaw, forgetting could be a useful characteristic of the brain, allowing it to engage with the environment in a dynamic way.
In a changing world, forgetting some memories can be beneficial as this can lead to more flexible behaviour and better decision-making. If memories were created in conditions that are no longer relevant, forgetting them can be a beneficial change that improves our overall well-being.
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Scientists believe that we learn to forget some memories while remembering others that are important. Of course, forgetting results in the loss of information, but a growing body of evidence suggests that in some cases forgetting is caused by changed memory access rather than memory loss.
Dr Tomas Ryan, Associate Professor in the School of Biochemistry and Immunology at Trinity College Dublin and the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, and Dr Paul Frankland, Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto and the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, have proposed this new theory.
Dr Ryan suggested, "Memories are stored in ensembles of neurons called 'engram cells' and successful recall of these memories involves the reactivation of these ensembles. The logical extension of this is that forgetting occurs when engram cells cannot be reactivated. The memories themselves are still there, but if the specific ensembles cannot be activated they can't be recalled. It's as if the memories are stored in a safe but you can't remember the code to unlock it."
"According to our new idea, forgetting is caused by circuit remodelling, which causes engram cells to transition from accessible to inaccessible. We propose that forgetting is actually a form of learning that affects memory accessibility in accordance with the environment and how predictable it is because the rate of forgetting is influenced by environmental factors."
"There are multiple ways in which our brains forget, but all of them act to make the engram, the physical embodiment of a memory, harder to access," said Dr Frankland.
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-PTC News
